What Man Can Do
by Orange-Green
Summary: The thing about nuclear weapons is that they are dangerous in even the most "noble" government's hands. Post-nuclear war Brittana with Unholy Trinity and other Glee characters throughout.
1. Chapter 1

What Man Can Do

I was inspired to write this by a movie I saw recently called The Divide. It was easily one of the most disturbing movies I've ever seen. Maybe it was just me and the state of mind I was in when watching it but it was definitely interesting. This is basically Glee, or more so, Brittana apocalyptic style. I don't own anything you recognize. Title from Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Nothing but the Water. Possible Faberry.

_I have seen what man can do when the evil lives inside of you._

Prologue – Quinn's POV

The end of the world. How many times have you heard it mentioned? It was preached from pulpits in churches all across the world. It was proclaimed by doomsday lovers with cardboard signs on corners in every major city. But most of us really never worried about it much or even less, worried what we do to survive it.

The end of the world didn't come with plagues and fire from Heaven like the Bible said. It didn't come by any crazy sickness or pandemic. There were no zombies. And I can't tell you how disappointed Sam was about that.

No, there were no zombies. But there were those infected with the radiation sickness. Sometimes I think zombies would have been more pleasant to deal with. We even began referring to them as simply the "infected", effectively dehumanizing them, so perhaps the two were fairly similar after all. Luckily if an infected bit you, you didn't transform into one as you would a zombie. But that didn't mean they wouldn't try to sink their yellow teeth into your flesh just the same. But zombies do not exist. Unfortunately, the infected were, and still are, all too real.

Once the radiation poison took effect, hair would fall out in clumps. Skin grew pallid and sunken. I remember the infected that attacked Rachel. His skin was gray and chapped and his eyes were so bloodshot they were painful to look at. And his lips. Compared to his gray skin his lips looked bright pink. Bright like blood. Maybe those guys who designed zombies for the movies knew something we didn't.

The thing about nuclear weapons is that they are dangerous even in the hands of the most "noble" government. And every nation has nuclear weapons even though all claim not to.

I can't remember what nation fired the first nuclear missile. I don't even know how many were actually deployed when it was all said and done. I only know about two specifically. The one that was dropped on Washington DC and first threw us into chaos and the one that was dropped on New York City two days later. I survived that one.

It was my junior year of college and I was visiting from Yale for the weekend. Rachel had been in the City since leaving Lima after high school and the big breakup with Finn. Kurt followed her to NYADA the following semester and they shared a small two bedroom apartment. When Santana showed up on their doorstep with a smirk and a duffle bag having decided Louisville was not for her, they found neither was brave enough to refuse the Latina entrance. The envelope full of money from Mrs. Lopez to help with rent and groceries didn't hurt Santana's chances of admittance either.

And of course where Santana went, Brittany was sure to follow. Kurt and Rachel returned home from class one evening to find Brittany clad in only her panties and leg warmers on her arms, raiding their fridge for orange juice with a naked and panting Santana on the couch. The blonde was a permanent fixture from that point on. Kurt was even happy to share a room with Rachel so Santana and Brittany could be Santana and Brittany behind closed doors. Or _sometimes_ closed doors if they decided to bother with doors. They usually didn't.

It may sound crazy, but I was fortunate to be visiting New York City the very weekend the bomb was dropped on the City. Had I been at school in Connecticut or even home visiting my mother in Lima, I have no doubt my survival story would be much different…If I even had one at all.

The first bomb was dropped on Washington DC on a Friday evening. I had just arrived on the train and dropped onto my friends' couch. We were trying to decide what to have for dinner. Rachel wanted to try a new vegan café down the street and Brittany wanted Chinese so of course Santana was insisting on Chinese as well. Kurt simply joined me on the couch, certain his suggestions would be ignored as usual. They had been arguing for a few minutes before the emergency broadcast began to blare from the radio playing softly in the corner of the room.

A nuclear weapon had been dropped on Washington DC. Our governing body of representatives had for the most part been wiped out and the rest of the nation was thrown into high alert. In the chaos, the bridges leading off of Long Island were closed as were the subways. All airplanes were grounded and the train stations shut down as well. We were effectively trapped in the City.

The five of us huddled together in their small apartment and awaited the news. We were still able to contact our families since the fallout of the blast didn't reach that far north or west. One of us had a cell phone to our ear constantly trying to reassure our families that we were fine and vice versa. But the panic had settled in already. Looting was reported in every major city across the country. Martial law went into effect.

I don't remember if the United States retaliated against the nation that first bombed us. I don't even remember which nation it was. But I do know it was two days later on a Sunday afternoon when we heard the sirens screaming both over the radio and outside our very building. Another lucky stroke just happened to be that Rachel had moved into a building with a fallout shelter. And a paranoid landlord who had been preparing for just such an attack for his entire life.

Rachel was one of the few to know about the existence of the shelter or even believe the landlord's ranting. The crazy man told everyone about it but Rachel just happened to see it with her own eyes having been lured down there once. She claimed she narrowly escaped with her life but we all assumed she was just being overly dramatic as usual. By the second morning holed up in that cellar with him I began to believe her.

The first crack of an explosion sounded and even drowned out the noise of the sirens. As we were all scrambling for the door, I just happened to look out the window overlooking the city. There was nothing but orange on the horizon as far as I could see. And then the buildings started to fall like a domino effect. I heard Brittany screaming behind me that I had to move. Santana grabbed me roughly from behind and dragged me out of the apartment.

We all rushed down the stairs with everyone else frantically making their way out of the building. The lights were flickering and I remember almost tripping over at least three people as we all went winding down the stairwell. When we reached the ground level those in front of us poured out into the streets and rushed for escape. From our spot in the lobby we could already see the rolling cloud of fire coming toward us.

Rachel somehow frantically managed to herd us all into the basement toward the laundry rooms while the chaos continued all around us. And there as we rushed into the laundry room we saw Mr. Creasy swinging another door closed, attempting to shut us all out.

Luckily Rachel's screams had alerted a few around us to the area and with their help we managed to force ourselves past Mr. Creasy and to barricade ourselves into the shelter before the blast shook the earth around us. When Mr. Creasy finally got the door shut and sealed against the stragglers who tried to force their way in behind us at the last minute, he turned and glared at the handful of us who were invading his safe haven.

We didn't have time to worry about his angry look because the entire earth seemed to drop and shake around us and the lights continued to flicker. Once the initial blast passed, an eerie calm and quiet settled. It didn't last more than ten seconds before the dust and debris began to drop from the ceiling above us. The ground shook again and we quickly and somberly realized the building, or what was left of it, had just collapsed on top of us. We were plunged into darkness as the power shut off.

I remember Kurt shrieking in the darkness that we were trapped and were going to die. He was also drowned out by the sound of further explosions from above our heads. It was a half an hour before the blasts stopped and the emergency generator Mr. Creasy had rigged kicked in allowing the eerie blue lights of the bulbs to buzz and flicker back on. And once again the silence settled around us.

Minutes ticked by before I had the courage to glance around at my surroundings. Brittany had her eyes tightly clenched and was curled into Santana's side. The Latina was holding her tightly, her lips firm in a grim line and her jaw clenched.

Rachel and Kurt were similarly curled together. There were two men and an older woman I didn't recognize. Apparently they lived on the floor below my friends. The two men were brothers and not much older than any of us. The older woman was probably my mother's age but was dressed like she had just come out of the red light district. And of course there was Mr. Creasy the landlord. The nine of us were the only survivors from the building. While we couldn't see what remained above us, of that we were certain.

We brushed ourselves off and raised to our feet unsure what to do next. The silence continued. Only Mr. Creasy seemed to have control of his senses when he rushed to grab a roll of duct tape and pressed multiple layers over the seams around the door.

"This door is not to be opened, do you understand me?" he bellowed, glaring at all of us with spit flying from around the cigar smoking between his lips. His crazed expression left us hesitant to cross him.

He huffed in resignation when no one questioned him. "This wasn't part of the plan. My home. _My_ life! I imagine you'll be expecting me to feed you too." Creasy growled.

A few of us pulled out our cell phones then and were met with 'no signal' etched on the screens taunting us.

Mr. Creasy begrudgingly gave us a quick tour of the basement cellar. It seemed the man had been stockpiling for just this event and had readied his basement. It was essentially that, just a basement…brick and cement walls, concrete floors. As the landlord he did at least have a number of extra mattresses stacked in a corner that we would be grateful for in the weeks to come.

He had sectioned off a small bathroom of sorts at the end of one corridor that consisted of a plank of drywall blocking off a small corner with a hole cut into the floor. The flooring around the hole seemed barely sturdy enough to hold up a child, let alone an adult.

"Don't forget to throw some lye down there, it's septic."

The disgusted look on Kurt's face would have drawn a chuckle at any other time. Right then however, we were all too shocked and afraid to do more than dumbly nod.

Another area was sectioned off and piled with canned goods and bottled water. It was even behind a gate of sorts, locked with a padlock. With the size of the building we were all able to find a private nook to settle into even though the five of us elected to stay together. And we at least had mattresses to sleep on.

Creasy spouted his knowledge of nuclear war craft and radiation poisoning almost constantly. According to him, we would have to remain barricaded in the fallout shelter for at least a month before it would be safe to exit, if we could even dig our way out. And even though Creasy was clearly insane, none of us knew any more about radiation or wanted to risk the horrors he spoke of morning noon and night. So we remained as we were, just waiting.

Three days passed before the first real bout of panic erupted. The older of the two brothers, Ethan, was restless and was determined to try to claw his way to the surface. Creasy had slammed a wrench into Ethan's temple before the man had even managed to peel the duct tape away from the door. Ethan's younger brother Liam pulled the other man away from Creasy, shouting curses.

Creasy remained poised in front of the door with the bloody wrench in his hands looking as if he would like nothing better than to bash all of our heads in for disrupting his plans to ride out the end of the world in solitude.

I think it was then that it really began to dawn on us that life as we knew it would never be the same again.

xxxx

_Many are the weak and the strong are few. _

Part One – Fallout

"I hope Breadstix is still standing."

Rachel's face scrunched up and the others were certain a long, verbose lecture about priorities was about to begin.

"Don't worry honey," Brittany soothed before Rachel could speak. "Lord Tubbington will stand guard over the stix until we can get back there. And then I'll fill a whole dump truck, just for you. Or better yet, I bet he already snagged the secret stix recipe so you can make your own."

Santana smiled tenderly back at the blonde and snuggled further into the taller woman's side. Any remark Rachel was about to make died at the look on the Latina's face.

Kurt sighed. "I could handle being holed up in here a lot easier if I just knew my dad and Blaine were alright. This not knowing is torturous."

Brittany frowned, deep in thought. She glanced down at Santana hoping her girlfriend would chime in as she always did. The brunette had her eyes closed and seemed close to slumber.

Quinn nudged Brittany gently. "He means torturous like awful, not tortoise." She whispered.

Brittany nodded in understanding and smiled gratefully back at Quinn. "Thanks. But we are kind of like turtles down here in our shell. I thought maybe that's what he meant."

Quinn reached and linked her fingers with Brittany's free hand and dropped her head on the taller blonde's shoulder.

"When I get home, I'm going to hug my dad." Kurt said quietly. "I never thanked him for trying so hard. For being such a great dad. Thank God, Buddha, and Versace he was in Lima when the bomb hit."

"When I get home I'm going to thank my mama for believing in me enough to not bitch when I dropped out of Louisville." Santana mumbled, half asleep.

Brittany squeezed her tighter and pressed a kiss to the top of Santana's head. "I'm going to take my little sister to the science museum like she asked before I left. She asked every weekend almost and I was always too busy. I wish…"

Santana sat up slightly and looked up into troubled blue eyes as Brittany trailed off. "She'll love that babe. I'd like to come too if that's ok."

Brittany smiled widely and once again pressed her lips to Santana's head.

Ethan and Liam came strolling into their section of the basement. Ethan leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Liam hopped up onto a crate and winked at Quinn with a smirk.

"So, what are you all talking about over here all by yourselves?" Ethan asked.

Quinn returned the look from Liam with a cocked brow and a shake of her head. "We're just talking about what we're going to do when we get home. What about you two? Who are you looking forward to seeing again?"

Ethan turned cold eyes on Quinn. "There's no one out there. We're it. And that's if we ever even get out of here. So you all might want to stop being such stuck up bitches and be a little friendlier with Liam and me. When the time comes…you're gonna want to be with us and not against us."

"Fuck off." Santana muttered from her spot beside Brittany. "We don't associate with you two because you're trouble and not worth our time Ernie."

"It's Ethan." Liam called from the crate.

Santana smirked. "Whatever. Look boys, we're all just trying to pass the time until someone comes for us. You want to be all panic and doomsday? Stick with Creasy and Deloris. We're just fine here."

Ethan pushed away from the wall and Liam stood to his feet behind him. "No one is coming for us. It's been over a week and what do you hear up there? Nothing. Because this is it."

The brothers turned then and sauntered off leaving a somber group behind them.

xxxx

It was clear after a few hours with Mr. Creasy that he was unstable. After a week and a half with him trapped in the basement he was only slipping further and further from reality. The two brothers humored him and he was too far gone to know he should be wary of them.

It came as no surprise when they were able to get the key to the locked pantry from him, effectively taking control of the food rations. Creasy turned into almost a lap dog for the two of them. And Deloris was not much better.

The friends tried to keep their distance, choosing not to cause any additional tension. Deloris had moved into the corridor the brothers had claimed and Creasy simply came and went as he saw fit.

xxxx

"Britt." Santana whispered one evening just after everyone had settled in to sleep for the night. "Wanna take a walk with me?"

The way the brunette was grazing her nails up and down Brittany's arm left the blonde fairly certain Santana wanted more than a walk. She felt her cheeks flush and her heart flutter. Even the end of the world couldn't change the feelings Santana stirred in the blonde. Brittany smiled, her eyes shining, and nodded.

Santana returned the smile and took Brittany's hand, pulling her to her feet. The two quietly wandered off, their hands entwined. They stopped at the end of the farthest hallway, across from the bathroom area. Santana decided not to waste a moment of their rare privacy and pinned Brittany against the wall with a needy kiss.

Brittany pulled the brunette closer and moaned into the kiss, fisting a hand in her dark hair. It was almost frantic as they tried to press as close to the other as possible.

"I love you." Santana mumbled against Brittany's lips. "Whatever happens…if we get out…or don't…I love you. I love you."

Brittany broke apart causing the brunette to whimper at the loss. She gripped Santana's face between her hands and pressed their foreheads together, panting slightly. "I know baby. I know. I love you too…so much. And you know what I'm looking forward to most? Even more than taking my sister to the science museum? Marrying you. After taking a super long hot bath with you of course."

Santana laughed and took one of Brittany's hands into her own, pressing a kiss to the blonde's palm. She looked back up into Brittany's bright blue eyes and forced her expression to turn serious. "Tell me B, what's got you hotter right now, me or the thought of warm water?"

Brittany snorted out a laugh and dropped her head to Santana's shoulder. She circled her arms around the smaller woman and pulled her close before raising her head to gaze into those warm dark eyes she loved dearly. "You. Always you. I will suffer a jillion cold showers…or no showers at all, as long as I have you."

Santana felt tears prick her eyes. She leaned forward and pressed their lips together again, but less frantic and desperate. A short time later, both slumped against the wall panting, their fingers stilling between each others legs. Brittany disentangled her hand first and pulled Santana to her body in a fierce hug.

The brunette initially groaned as she felt Brittany's fingers slip from inside her. But as Brittany held her tightly, Santana felt her heart soaring. She pressed a kiss to the underside of the blonde's jaw and smiled.

"I love you Brittany. Have I mentioned that?"

Santana felt Brittany's body vibrate as she chuckled. "You're just saying that because I can give you an earth shattering orgasm even after the earth shattered."

"You know it."

Brittany laughed and squeezed Santana tightly again. She kissed the brunette's temple and hummed contentedly.

"Thanks for the show ladies."

Ethan's voice startled the two and Santana quickly moved to block Brittany from his view. "You sick fuck." She hissed.

The man laughed as he emerged from the shadows. "I thought there was something up with you two. Makes sense now why you haven't been underneath me yet. What about the other two, they dykes too? Because I know sure as fuck that your little pansy friend isn't fucking either of them."

Santana could feel Brittany shaking behind her. "Fuck off Ethan. Even if I was straight, I wouldn't be caught dead _underneath_ you. Why don't you just crawl on back to the shitter over there where you were perving on our hotness."

Ethan licked his lips and smirked as his gaze ran over the two in front of him. "Goodnight _ladies_." He sauntered away, whistling a tune down the hallway.

Santana waited until the whistling faded away before gripping Brittany's hand tightly and pulling her back toward their own section of the basement. As soon as they dropped onto the floor next to their friends, Brittany buried her face in Santana's neck and struggled to control her breathing.

"Are you guys ok?" Quinn whispered from her spot beside Rachel.

Santana squeezed Brittany reassuringly. "We're fine…just fine."

xxxx

Santana tightened her grip on Brittany as the blonde cringed and curled into her side when Creasy passed by their little nook spewing more of his radiation facts. Kurt just rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Don't listen to him Britt." Santana murmured softly, pressing a kiss into Brittany's blonde hair. "Just a few more days and we can get out of here. And then we'll leave his crazy ass behind."

Brittany nodded slightly and fisted Santana's shirt in her hand. Almost a month had passed since the initial blast had rocked the City. Since the night Ethan had caught them together, Brittany had been easier upset and jumpy. The looks the man paid them didn't cause either to rest easy but both simply tried to keep their distance. Santana rubbed Brittany's arms gently, hoping to comfort her.

They were nearing the end of their rations as well as their wits. Ethan and Liam were growing more and more aggressive and angry. Tempers were short and the silence from above was deafening.

When Creasy finally decided it was safe to try to make their way out, they all scrambled toward the door, anxious to finally reach ground level. It was immediately apparent that it would be impossible to exit the way they entered. With the building collapsed around them and above them, the survivors where effectively buried alive. Entombed in what had been their safe haven.

xxxx

The older woman, Deloris, came scuttling back into the main living quarters of the cellar, bruised and bloody. Santana and Quinn had both promised to try to protect the woman from the two brothers but the older woman seemed content to allow them to use her as they saw fit. Santana couldn't help but feel relief that with Deloris there to entertain the brothers, the rest of the women seemed relatively safe so far. Deloris had however begun to insinuate that one of the other girls needed to step up and start helping out in that area as well, lest the two men begin to really lose their tempers.

Ethan and Liam suffered the effects of being buried alive and seemingly just waiting for death worse than the others. After digging out of the cellar failed, the two had quickly deemed themselves the "leaders" of the group and ruled with an iron fist. All food and water rations were barricaded in their own nook and they doled out the servings as they saw fit. Finally, in a fit of rage, Ethan took great pleasure in beating Mr. Creasy to death with the same wrench the older man had used on him in those early days. The day Mr. Creasy died marked the 52nd day they had been trapped under the earth.

It was that same day that Santana made all of their group promise to never be caught alone. The others had no qualms about agreeing to the Latina's order.

The friends passed the time the best they could. They would often speculate as to where their other friends and family were and would make plans as to how to eventually locate them. With the deafening silence from above, it was not hard to grow antsy and stir crazy but they managed the best they could.

xxxx

"We're almost out water." Quinn said quietly from the corner the friends were huddled in. "And I'm pretty sure Ethan is hoarding what little food we have left. I don't know about you all but I don't want to starve to death and serve as a meal for them."

Rachel cringed at Quinn's blunt statement. "Well just what to you propose we do? We've been trying to chisel and dig our way out of here to no avail. Spoons and pocket knives are not exactly suitable for digging…or staging a coup I might add."

"Yeah, just our luck the lunatics among us just happened to find the only handgun old man Creasy managed to stash in a coffee can." Kurt muttered.

"Hey fag, what did you say?" Liam snapped as he rounded the corner.

Santana jumped to her feet and stepped in front of the man. "We weren't talking to you Liam. So why don't you just slither on back to your brother and fuck off."

Liam laughed as he stood looming over the small brunette. Brittany was the next on her feet and wrapped a tentative hand around Santana's wrist and tried to pull her back away from the man.

"Come on San, I need you to help me and Quinn think of new insults for Finn when we see him again." Santana could feel Brittany trembling slightly as she tried to separate her from Liam. "I think triple nipple is the best so far. That's mine though so Quinn says I'm just pious or something."

"Biased, B." Santana mumbled, still tense. The brunette felt anger building and she found herself actually hoping the man would make a move. She felt the need to unleash her anger and fear at her world being turned inside out.

Liam just smirked and muttered something about the blonde retard before wandering off to his and Ethan's section.

Quinn stepped to Santana's free side and watched as Liam disappeared from sight. As Santana released a breath she didn't realize she was holding, Quinn cocked a brow and turned to Brittany with pursed lips. "So that's how you've been spending your free time huh. Coming up with insults for Finn?"

"I call them Finnsults." Brittany replied evenly, her gaze still warily trained on the corner Liam had rounded.

Even Rachel chuckled softly as the tension finally eased with the disappearance of Liam. Santana allowed herself to finally be tugged back down into a seated position between Brittany's legs. The brunette lightly scratched her nails down the pale arms that had circled her waist and held her securely against Brittany's chest.

xxxx

Days passed. No one could be sure exactly how many. The hours blended together. They slept when they were tired and ate what rations Ethan allowed them when they were hungry. The brothers had been oddly quiet for the last day or so and Santana began to grow suspicious.

"Hey," she whispered. "Have any of you seen Deloris lately?"

Rachel snorted. "Not since we overheard them rutting like pigs in their animal-like fornication session some time ago."

"Hey, leave the poor pigs out of this." Quinn grumbled, half asleep in the corner. "God I miss bacon."

Brittany patted the blonde and nodded in sympathy. Santana and Kurt simply quirked their brows.

Santana stood to her feet and glanced over her shoulder toward the corridor Ethan and Liam had claimed as their own. "Seriously, something doesn't feel right. She's usually come limping through telling us how well behaved her kitty was for our resident lunatics by now."

"And by kitty she actually means pussy." Brittany responded.

Kurt groaned. "Yes, thank you Brittany. We had no idea what she meant."

"Hey!" Santana barked. "Watch it princess! You leave Brittany alone before I fucking cut you."

"Come on San." Quinn replied, hopping from her spot and stepping in front of the fiery Latina. "Kurt didn't mean anything. We're all just a little on edge…for good reason. We don't turn on each other…that's what Ethan and Liam want."

Santana sighed and seemed to deflate slightly. "Whatever. But something is messed up and I want to know what's going on. Think I'll have a little chat with the crazy brothers."

Brittany shot to her feet. "Not alone you're not. I'm coming with."

Santana felt her lips twitching as she fought a smile at Brittany's stern expression. Her anger quickly faded completely and a warmth flooded her. "Ok B. But stay behind me and let me do the talking. Yeah?"

Brittany nodded resolutely and picked up the steak knife she had claimed as her own before linking her free hand with Santana's. The two of them then cautiously made their way around the corner and toward where they assumed Deloris and the brothers were.

The hum of the lights buzzing above their heads in the otherwise silent corridors left a sinking feeling in the brunette's stomach. They rounded the corner and Santana gasped at the sight that met her eyes. She immediately tried to block Brittany from seeing.

Deloris was sprawled naked on the couch. Blood had dried on her face and her eyes were open in an unseeing stare. Bloodied handprints marked the woman's torso and thighs with streaks of blood across her cheeks and forehead. Santana didn't have to look twice to know the woman was dead.

Brittany squeaked and fisted the back of Santana's shirt when she caught sight of Deloris before the brunette could shield her. They quickly spun on their heels to try to retreat. They were met with Liam standing in the doorway in Deloris' skirt with a dazed expression on his face, blocking their exit. Blood was smeared over his lips looking like lipstick haphazardly applied. At the sound of Ethan's cough behind them, they both turned again and Santana quickly stepped back in front of the blonde.

"She just…broke." Ethan said. Behind them, Liam began to laugh uncontrollably.

"Shit." Santana muttered, still trying to keep herself between Brittany and both of the men.

Ethan stepped closer and ran a hungry gaze over the two women. "We're gonna be needing a replacement for Deloris. Haven't decided who it should be yet…but I've got my eye on you senorita…especially after that impressive show a while back."

He reached his hand and trailed a finger down Santana's jaw. Before she had a chance to respond, Brittany roughly pulled the smaller woman to the side and had the steak knife pressed to Ethan's throat. She moved so quickly the blade was digging into his skin before the man could even blink.

"You touch her and it will be the last thing you do." The blonde hissed. "I have been stuck in this hole with you disgusting, crazy, assholes because the whole freaking world got blown to bits and I will be damned and crispy if I let you lay a finger on her."

Liam's laughter died as Ethan staggered backwards away from the knife. Brittany held her ground keeping the knife firmly in front of her. "You fucking crazy bitch." Ethan mumbled. "Just get out of here. And take your spic with you."

Brittany hissed again and lunged at the man. Santana grabbed the blonde around the waist and tried to pull her away but Brittany was too quick again. She slashed the blade across Ethan's cheek drawing a thin line of blood. The man yelled and staggered backwards once again.

Liam charged the pair but Brittany held the knife out in front of them with a steady hand. Quinn, Kurt, and Rachel came up behind them after hearing the commotion and they all squared off against the two brothers.

"Man, just drop it." Ethan muttered. "Just let 'em go. They'll come crawling back to us soon enough…when they run out of food and water. And we'll fucking spit in their faces."

Liam nodded with a smirk. He scratched his cheek with the barrel of the small pistol the two kept close by. "Sure you don't wanna just shoot 'em now?"

Ethan shook his head as he continued to try to stop the blood from trickling down his cheek. "No. We'll let 'em starve. And then we'll fuck 'em one at a time, including you fairy boy."

It took Santana and Quinn both to pull Brittany away, her muscles taught, ready to snap. "Come on baby." Santana whispered. "Let's go, come on."

When they had finally retreated back to their own corridor, Brittany was trembling both from rage and fear. She allowed Santana to pull her into her arms.

"They killed her." The blonde whimpered. "They killed her. We're trapped down here with them and they killed her. We're dead. We're gonna die down here. I didn't say goodbye…my mom…oh God."

Santana just slid to the ground with Brittany wrapped tightly in her arms and shushed her while the blonde cried on her shoulder.

xxxx

The following evening Brittany couldn't sleep. The brothers had kept their distance so a false calm seemed to settle over them all. Brittany glanced around. Santana was curled next to her snoring softly while Rachel and Quinn were also sleeping soundly by the opposite wall. The blonde glanced at Kurt when she noticed him pull himself upright a few feet away from her.

"Potty break." He mumbled as he pulled himself to his feet.

Brittany frowned as Kurt made to wander off alone. "No, wait." She whispered, hoping to not disturb her friends. "You can't go by yourself, you know the rules."

Kurt sighed but didn't disagree. Before Brittany stood to her feet she lovingly brushed the fringe out of Santana's face and placed a soft kiss to her forehead. Kurt gave her a small smile when she finally stood and moved toward the hallway with him.

They quietly slipped toward the bathroom without sensing any movement from the other occupants. Kurt had even relaxed enough to urinate even with Brittany standing behind him keeping watch. He was contemplating making small talk when a voice sounded from the doorway.

"I've been waiting for you bitch."

Ethan rushed them and slammed Brittany into the wall before Kurt could react. She clawed at the hand the man clamped over her mouth but the force of the impact against the wall left her head swimming.

Kurt yelled for help and charged toward Ethan. The man shrugged him off but Kurt continued to try to pull him away from Brittany. Ethan finally let go of the blonde long enough to turn and shove Kurt back toward the toilet area. Kurt stumbled and fell backwards landing with a grimace. Brittany screamed as the floor splintered and gave way beneath him and he disappeared from sight with a yell.

Santana furiously stormed into the bathroom before Ethan could reach for Brittany again. She flew at the man all fists and curses with Rachel and Quinn close behind. Unfortunately Liam also came rushing in with the pistol drawn and cocked. He leveled the gun on Santana as she clawed at Ethan's face.

Quinn felt something within her snap. Her life was in shambles and she had been trapped underground with madmen for almost two months. Without thinking she grabbed a splintered plank from the floor and swung it at Liam knocking the gun from his hands. She continued swinging until the man was crumpled and unconscious at her feet.

Santana and Ethan continued to struggle on the other side of the room. Brittany tried to help subdue the man but was rewarded with an elbow to her head. She fell to the floor at the same time the gun was knocked from Liam's hand and clattered across the floor to rest at Rachel's feet. The brunette didn't allow herself time to think or question before she reached down and picked up the gun.

Ethan had his fist pulled back ready to deliver a punch to Santana's face when the shot rang out. He seemed surprised when the bullet ripped through him. But surprised or not, he was dead before he hit the ground.

They were all shocked to silence. Even Kurt had stopped screeching from his landing spot under their feet. Santana dropped to her knees next to Brittany on the floor and threw her arms around the taller woman.

"Are you ok Brittany? Baby are you alright? Did he touch you? Are you ok?"

"I'm ok." Brittany replied softly with a nod before pulling away slightly to see for herself that Santana was also relatively unharmed. Her eyes widened when she heard Kurt yell from below them.

"What is going on up there? Someone talk to me!"

Rachel let the gun slip from her trembling hands and had already scrambled toward the hole in the floor. She was peering down at Kurt with a disgusted look on her face. Brittany pulled from Santana's arms and crawled closer, peeking over the edge. The sight of Kurt chest deep in sewage illuminated from the soft light above them left them all gagging.

"Oh God, that has gotta suck." Brittany mumbled before rolling to the side and retching. Santana held her hair back and lightly scratched her scalp until the blonde could compose herself.

"This is rank!" Kurt screeched. "Would you please stop messing around up there and get me out of here!"

Quinn glanced around before she hopped up and began to rummage around looking for one of the last flashlights she could find. "Just hang on Kurt, we're coming."

She shined the light down into the hole to get a better look around the area while Rachel quickly went in search of a rope. Quinn suddenly sat up with a gasp.

"What?" Santana asked, staring at her curiously.

"He's in the sewer." Quinn responded softly.

Brittany narrowed her eyes at the other blonde and nodded slightly. "Yeah…and we should pull him out. It's gross in there. Quinn, are you having a stroke?"

"No!" Quinn exclaimed. "He's in the sewer! The sewer that leads to manholes that leads to the street! Kurt? Kurt, can you see how far the tunnel goes?"

She leaned further into the hole and shined the light around in every direction. Kurt turned back and forth frantically. "There, that way! I can't see the end that way! That could be the way out." Quinn continued.

Rachel rushed back into the bathroom area with what little amount of rope she could find. "It's not very long but maybe he can jump and reach it and then we can pull him out."

"Or we can tie it off and use it to climb down in there without risking injuring ourselves by jumping." Quinn replied, making Brittany cringe and Rachel's jaw drop. "No, seriously, this could be the way out of here!"

"Quinn," Santana tried to reason, "If we jump down there we won't be able to get back up here. We could be trapping ourselves down there in shit for the rest of our already miserable lives."

"Well we sure as hell aren't getting out through the front door. The way I see it this is our only chance. We're all just waiting to die up here anyway, come on; we have to at least try! And do you really want to be here when Liam wakes up and sees we killed his brother? Please Santana! We can't split up now. Please?"

Brittany squeezed Santana's hand and nodded to Quinn again. Santana sighed. "Ok, let's go. Berry, you in?"

Rachel groaned. "I certainly appreciate your weak attempt to include my input even though you all have clearly decided. I'm outnumbered and therefore I will join in with the majority vote and into the pit I will go. And I sure as hell am not staying here alone with Liam."

"A simple 'yes' would have been plenty." Santana snarked. "Well, come on B, let's get you down there."

"Come on Rachel, let's get what supplies we have left and put them in a bag to take with us. Get all the knives you can find too…and batteries if we have any left. And matches! And for God's sakes, don't forget the gun!"

Rachel nodded as she and Quinn rushed off to gather their supplies. By the time they gathered everything they thought worth taking; Brittany was already in the pit with Kurt. They dropped the bag down next with Rachel following after it.

Quinn and Santana shared a brief smile before the brunette slipped down into the muck as well. Quinn glanced back over her shoulder one last time at the cellar that had been her home and prison for almost two months. With a grim nod, she slipped through the hole and into the sewer.

xxxx

"This is way worse than that summer Patches and I got lost in the sewers." Brittany mumbled. "Even though I'd much rather be lost in shit with you guys instead of Patches…but this is really gross."

Rachel had been mostly silent since dropping down into the muck and sewage. Even Santana had been too disgusted to complain much. Quinn had shone the light around and ushered them all forward before panic could settle in.

Now they had been trudging through the sewer for what seemed like hours in almost pitch black. The flashlight only lit a small path in front of them. As the shortest, Rachel and Santana were having the most difficult time wading through the muck. Kurt had had to stop twice to vomit.

"Look!" Quinn called finally, shining the light up ahead of them. "I see a ladder! Maybe it leads to the street."

She and Brittany reached the ladder before the others and glanced up to the portal above them. "What if it's still not safe up there?" Brittany asked quietly, gazing upward. "What if it's worse out there?"

"Brittany." Quinn responded, gripping Brittany's shoulders and forcing her to look back at her, "You're chest deep in shit and God only knows what else. How much worse could it possibly be?"

The taller blonde chuckled and nodded slightly. "True story. Well…why don't I go up and check it out?"

"No. No fucking way, I'll go." Santana said from her position behind them. She was clearly winded and panting slightly from trudging through the almost chin-high muck.

Quinn shook her head and stepped up onto the first rung of the ladder, passing the flashlight to the shorter woman. "I'm going. Santana stay down here. If anything happens, move on through the tunnel to the next manhole."

The remaining friends formed a perimeter around the thin metal ladder as Quinn climbed her way to the top, muck and mud dropping in clumps as she ascended. The weight of the mud caked to her weighed her down and made the climb that much more difficult. Quinn felt her muscles trembling by the time she finally reached the top. With a grunt, the blonde finally forced the round wheel to give and with a twist, she pushed the cover up and away from the hole.

Quinn climbed the remaining few steps and eased her head out of the hole just far enough to survey her surroundings. Her first instinct was to breathe in deeply. She pulled herself up and out of the hole. The site around her left her speechless. There was nothing but rubble as far as she could see. Everything was coated in thick gray ash. Everything was still and silent. Everything was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N – Thanks for the alerts and reviews and just for reading in general, you're awesome! To you anonymous reviewers, thanks! I would love to reply personally but alas, I cannot. I have this outlined as a 4-shot but I still have a lot to fit in. I don't want to make the chapters so long they're impossible to wade through so I might break it down, we'll see. And again, I don't own anything you recognize. Part One was inspired by The Divide but from here on out it's all out of my head. Oh, and warning, character death, it had to happen sometime.

Part two – Ground Level

_But with the water, we'll start anew._

Quinn quickly waived the others up to join her on the ground level. The air seemed fresh and clean compared to the sewage they had been breathing for hours on end even though the dust in the air felt heavy and thick. Everything was covered in a thick layer of the ash and dust. In the back of her mind, Quinn worried about radiation poisoning but not enough to climb back down into that hole.

One by one, they climbed up out of the sewer. No one said much as they finally all stood gazing out over the horizon. Not a single building within sight was still standing. Cars were crushed by the rubble. Quinn thought she saw bones extending from underneath another pile but she quickly turned her head away.

Arguably one of the greatest cities in the world had been reduced to rubble.

xxxx

"What now?" Kurt asked softly, breaking the reverie as they stood gazing over the remains of the city.

They all glanced at each other with wide eyes. Brittany finally reached to Santana and with a single finger, she brushed a large clump of sewage from the brunette's shoulder. The resulting "plop" as the clump hit the ground caused Brittany to giggle.

"Well I don't know about you…actually no, I do know about you, all of you…we all need a bath." The blonde said, still smiling mischievously.

Rachel stared at Brittany for a few seconds before she felt a laugh bubbling in her own throat. "Brittany…Britt, um you've got a little…poop on your chest."

The blonde glanced down at the large clump of sewage oddly enough nestled between her breasts in the tank top she was wearing. Before she could swipe at it, Rachel reached and scooped the clump from Brittany's cleavage and flung it away with another "plop".

"Hey!" Santana exclaimed. "Kindly get your hands away from my girlfriend's chest! Those are mines and mines alone. I will Snix you right out of this apocalypse hobbit, don't think I won't!"

Rachel and Brittany had already doubled over in laughter while Santana continued to glare. Even Quinn and Kurt were chuckling. The Latina huffed and stomped toward them, pulling Brittany away from the other brunette.

Brittany stood upright, still smiling, and threw her arms around Santana's neck. "San, we're free! We're out! God, I love you so much!"

Santana had no further complaints as Brittany crashed their lips together, ignoring the fact that they were still coated in muck. The brunette moaned as Brittany pushed her backwards to lean against a large chunk of debris, still kissing feverishly.

Rachel moved to stand between Quinn and Kurt and looped their arms together. "It's comforting to know that even in the midst of the end of the world as we know it some things will simply never change."

Quinn smiled with a nod as she watched the pair in front of her. With a sigh she realized she had to break up the love fest however. "Um guys, just on the off chance that pile of ash you're humping on is radioactive…we should probably get out of here."

Santana jumped away from the ash covered rubble with a squeak and quickly began to brush her pants off where she had been leaning. "Yeah…yeah we should go."

Quinn smirked as the Latina sauntered off with Brittany's hand clasped in her own. Their light mood didn't last long as they picked their way through the rubble toward what they hoped would be less destruction. They didn't speak much as they walked through what was left of the city. Finally they reached what remained of a bridge leading off of the island and onto the mainland.

While a portion of the bridge did extend all the way over the water to the other side, it looked ready to fall at any moment.

"Maybe we should try one of the other bridges…aren't there like 27 of them?" Kurt mumbled.

Santana shook her head. "We can't backtrack. For all we know moving to one of the other bridges could take us deeper into the bombing territory. If there are any radiation issues, I'd rather get the fuck out of here now, ya know?"

If the water below them hadn't been covered with a layer of soot and ash, the group would have been tempted to quickly clean themselves. The remains of dead fish floating also left them hesitant to step into the water. With a nervous glance down at the water below them, they began to inch their way across the bridge.

Because of the damage to the bridge they were forced to cross single-file and slowly. Santana watched as Brittany gracefully sidestepped a large hole. When the blonde glanced back over her shoulder she smiled at Santana before continuing her way across. The brunette returned the smile before inching further along the bridge herself. Suddenly, behind her she heard Rachel hiss.

"Rachel? Are you alright?" Santana asked, turning on her heel quickly.

The shorter woman looked up surprised. "Oh, yes I'm fine. Just wasn't watching where I was going and scraped my arm on a piece of metal. I'm fine."

Santana rolled her eyes. "All that for a scratch. You scared the shit out of me."

Rachel smiled as Santana glared at her. "I appreciate your concern Santana but I'm fine, really."

The Latina muttered something under her breath before turning her back to the shorter woman to continue her way across the bridge. She only took a few steps before she sighed and turned back around to face Rachel. "Look Berry… I totally had things under control with Ethan back there but…thanks."

Rachel wanted to tease Santana for uttering a word she had been certain was not in the Latina's vocabulary but instead she just smiled and nodded. "You're very welcome. But Quinn is the one who kept you from being shot by Liam. She's the one you should thank."

Santana turned back to look Rachel in the eye. "I know Quinn has my back. I've always known that. It was just nice to know you do too. I'm trying to thank you here so don't fucking argue with me…I hope you don't feel guilty or upset about killing someone…I mean…"

"I don't." Rachel interrupted. "Maybe I should but I don't."

Santana nodded. "Well thank you. But this doesn't mean I'm going to be nice to you."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Rachel replied with a smile, causing Santana to smirk.

They continued the rest of the way across the bridge in silence. All breathed a sigh of relief when they finally stepped back to solid ground.

Still without a clear plan they simply walked. They weren't certain how long or far they walked. They simply noticed the ash and destruction seemed to diminish the further from the city they moved. While they still did not come across any sign of life, at least the dust and fear of radiation faded the longer they walked. The friends let the city horizon fade as they wandered out into the wilderness that used to be the suburbs.

xxxx

Finally, they were near exhaustion when they stumbled across a small lake somewhere in rural New Jersey. "Oh God," Quinn muttered. "It looks clean. Please tell me I can belly flop right in the middle of that."

Without wasting another moment, the friends ran straight into the water. They splashed and laughed as if the world as they knew it hadn't just ended. Santana and Brittany helped each other out of their clothes to clean them the best they could in the water with the others quickly following suit. Quinn saw the pair edging away from the others, smiling at each other tenderly.

"Just don't go too far ok guys?" the blonde said as she waded past with a smile. "And yell if you…ya know…need help or anything."

"Quinnie," Santana replied with a seductive smirk. "Are you asking to join us? I mean, I know it's been a while for you and you probably have cobwebs all up in there but…_really_?"

Brittany giggled as Quinn blushed furiously. "That's not-I didn't-_no_!"

Santana laughed and splashed the sputtering blonde as she and Brittany leisurely swam away. When Quinn turned back to Rachel and Kurt, both were trying hard not to laugh.

"Oh shut up." She grumbled before diving beneath the refreshing water.

xxxx

"Oh God, it is so nice to be clean!" Santana exclaimed as she and Brittany swam lazily in the sun.

Brittany was currently circling the Latina and practicing her backstroke, leaving the brunette quite happy with the view. The blonde came to a stop and dipped under the water, slicking her hair back as she emerged. Santana could only stare as the sunlight glinted off her wet skin.

"No kidding." Brittany replied. "You taste awesome all the time, but I think lake water just adds a certain…something."

Santana swallowed thickly at the sultry look on Brittany's face as she waded closer. "In fact," the blonde purred, reaching for Santana's hips, "I think I'm ready for seconds."

"Don't you mean fourths?" Santana whimpered as the taller woman began trailing kisses down her neck.

"You know I hate geography San." Brittany replied without breaking contact.

Santana didn't even try to hide her swoon as Brittany gripped the underside of her thighs and hoisted the smaller woman up out of the water. Santana wrapped her legs around the blonde and allowed Brittany to carry her back closer to the shoreline.

"Shit baby, I love it when you do that." She mumbled, nuzzling the taller woman's neck.

Brittany chuckled as she gently deposited Santana onto the ground and hovered above her, raking her eyes down the brunette's nude body as if trying to decide where to begin. In less than five seconds, Santana's back was arching off of the ground, her hands buried in blonde locks.

xxxx

A while later, the two sauntered back to their friends hand in hand in their washed out but still damp clothes. Rachel and Quinn were repacking the supplies in the canvas sack they had brought. The sack and most of the items inside had been cleaned in the lake as well. Kurt glanced up at the returning pair with a smirk.

"Well that little tryst should keep you two satiated for, oh I don't know, another hour or so."

Santana was still gazing lovingly at Brittany when she raised her middle finger toward Kurt without even sparing him a glance. "Ignore them B. Jealous bitches, all of 'em."

Brittany laughed as she dropped to the ground next to Quinn, pulling Santana down with her. The brunette settled between Brittany's legs and leaned backwards against the blonde's chest. The taller woman wrapped her arms around Santana and pressed a kiss to the side of her head.

Quinn smiled before turning back to the canned goods in her hands. "What do you guys think of staying here for the night? We could build a fire and warm up a couple cans of…whatever this is."

"Like a campout!" Brittany exclaimed. "That sounds awesome. And we can sleep under the stars…and moonlight skinny dipping!"

"And I stand corrected." Kurt mumbled. "Try 15 minutes."

Santana chose to ignore him. "Yeah, that sounds good to me. We don't really have any other plan anyway and I don't really want to walk anymore today."

"No wonder." Quinn said with a smirk. "I'm surprised you _can_ walk from what we heard coming from around the bend there."

Brittany had the decency to blush but Santana simply burrowed further into the blonde's arms and winked at Rachel who looked scandalized. "Jea-lous" she replied with a smirk of her own.

After quite a bit of fumbling, they managed to build a fire next to the lake. They each warmed a can over the small fire and ate contentedly. Each seemed unwilling to worry about what the next day would bring and instead enjoyed the company and scenery.

When the moon was finally high in the sky and glinting off of the lake, Santana and Brittany were wrapped around each other and whispering softly, the others having fallen asleep hours ago. Santana traced her fingers down Brittany's cheeks before tucking blonde strands behind her ears. She leaned in and pressed their lips together softly.

"This is nice." Brittany whispered when they parted.

Santana smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I could get used to this."

After a few more lazy kisses, Brittany's face turned thoughtful. "San? New York City is like huge right?" At Santana's curious nod, the blonde continued. "Well, why didn't we see anyone else? Are we really the only ones alive…Out of like seven billion people? What about our families?"

Santana sighed. "I don't know babe. Maybe others got out, I don't know. What I do know is that I still have you. And Quinn. And even Kurt and Rachel I guess. That's pretty damn lucky so…maybe we're also just lucky enough our families are back home waiting on us. Look at what we survived…bombs, Creasy's cellar, those bat shit crazy brothers. I don't know what we're going to find tomorrow…but as long as you're here with me it can't be all bad."

Brittany smiled finally and scooted closer to Santana. "You say the sweetest things sometimes." She pulled the brunette flush against her and kissed her solidly. "Bring on the end of the world."

xxxx

When they woke the next morning, they were hesitant to leave the calm of the lake but knew they would have to move on eventually. They decided to make their way to Lima to see if they could find their families. After opening another few cans and sharing breakfast, the friends gathered their few belongings and headed out.

"You know what we need?" Brittany asked after hours of walking. "A car. We need a car. It would be so much faster than walking."

Quinn and Santana exchanged a knowing smile while Kurt just sighed. "Yes, well you just shout when you see one with the keys in it Brittany."

"I don't need keys." Brittany responded.

The four stopped when they realized Brittany had also stopped. They followed her gaze to where in the distance they could see what looked like could possibly be a few buildings. Santana smirked and stepped closer to the blonde, draping an arm around her shoulder.

"Baby, let's go get us a car."

xxxx

They stopped on the edge of the surrounding tree line and warily eyed the remains of the small shopping center. Instead of a few buildings, they were gazing at mainly rubble. However, a few buildings on the outskirts looked relatively untouched, as did a few vehicles still littering the parking lot.

"Looks quiet." Quinn said softly, squinting against the sunlight. "Maybe we could even look around and find some supplies. What do you think?"

Santana nodded. "Ok, but let's stick together, it's probably not a good idea to split up. At least not until we know what we're dealing with in this nuked shithole."

"Alright." Brittany said glancing at the rest of her friends. "We hit up like a Walmart and then pick a car. Seems easy enough."

They all nodded and moved into the rubble. The last building at the end of the complex was still standing and looked to be a small all purpose store. The glass doors had been busted out and the inside of the store was dark.

"Ok." Quinn said quietly as they stepped over the threshold. "Santana, Brittany, you guys start on the left and work right. Rachel, Kurt, we'll start on the right and meet in the middle…only the necessities. And maybe we should pick up a change of clothes or two?"

They split off and began to wander the isles looking for anything that could be of use. Santana and Brittany had each picked up a backpack and were loading various items into it when they met up with the others in the middle of the store. The other three were pushing a cart with clothes and what few canned goods they could find.

They only managed to find a few food items but each had picked up one of the larger kitchen knives remaining in the store. Unfortunately the sporting good section had already been picked through.

They made their way back outside with their new supplies. Back on the street, Brittany began walking toward the few cars left still scattered in the lot. "Baby, which one do you want?"

Santana followed along behind the blonde with a small smile. "Well, probably the SUV, just because it's sturdy and big enough to fit all the extra baggage. And by baggage, I mean you Berry."

Rachel sputtered. "Baggage? I beg your pardon Santana? I don't recall you shooting anyone yesterday. I saved your life! Which you thanked me for on the bridge!"

Brittany turned back to the others with a smile while Santana just continued to smirk. "Rach, don't take her so seriously. Snark is like Santana's love language…well except when she's with me of course. Then its sweet lady kisses and sweet nothings and-"

"Alright, that's enough B." Santana interrupted. "Show us how awesome you are and get this car going. And let me save at least a little of my badass image."

Brittany nodded sheepishly and in less than ten seconds of hopping into the seat the engine turned over.

"What the hell?" Kurt exclaimed. "Brittany, you can't turn on a computer but you can hotwire a car?"

"Bananas and grapes." The blonde replied with a shrug. "And I totally can but…this one had the keys in it still."

Kurt looked thoroughly confused while Santana and Quinn just looked smug. He simply shook his head and climbed into the back seat of the SUV. "I think you mean apples and oranges."

The blonde turned around from the driver's seat. "Nah, I don't really like apples or oranges. I think peaches are my favorite." With a wink she turned back to the front.

"You do that on purpose don't you?" Kurt replied with a sigh.

Quinn laughed as she hopped into the back seat, Rachel following her. "That little talent came in handy whenever Dr. and Mrs. Lopez were away for the weekend and we couldn't find keys to the Beemer. You need a car jacked or a lock picked…Britt's your girl."

"That's right; I spent just as much time in Lima Heights as Santana did…more actually because Santana moved when we were ten. I still go hang with my home boys in the hood sometimes." Brittany said before turning thoughtful. "I don't siphon gas though; I'm not a very strong sucker."

Santana looked up from the map she found in the glove compartment of the car and smirked. "Don't worry BrittBritt, I'm sure Kurt can handle that…right Kurt?"

Kurt quirked a brow when Santana turned back and grinned at him. "Classy Santana."

"Always." The Latina responded in a sing-song voice as they pulled out onto the deserted roadway.

"Hey, try the radio, maybe there's a broadcast or something." Quinn interrupted before the two could continue squabbling.

The brunette turned the dial and static filled the cabin of the SUV. Hitting the scan button produced nothing but further static. Santana turned the radio off before reaching and entwining her fingers with Brittany's over the gear shift as they drove on.

xxxx

After driving a few miles on the highway they were forced off the road. The entire highway ahead of them had been blown out and burned cars littered the pavement on both sides of the crater. Brittany pulled the car to a stop and they all gazed out the front window toward the destruction.

"I think we should go around." Brittany said softly.

"Good call B." Santana replied.

From that point on, they decided to stick to smaller roads and to stay away from the major highways, hoping the map would help them make it to Lima on back roads. As they drove, even from a distance of any towns, it was clear Washington DC and New York City were not the only two cities bombed. Quinn figured it was safe to say Philadelphia was in the same state of ruin as New York from the looks of the destroyed skyline. At least she assumed the remains of the city were that of Philadelphia.

xxxx

"We're going to need to find more gas soon." Brittany said after about another hour and a half of driving.

"We could stop and eat something when we find another car." Quinn added. "And I don't know about you guys but I really need to pee."

The friends considered themselves lucky when they came across a utility truck sitting on the side of the road a short while later. Brittany pulled the SUV off the road in front of the truck and they all piled out of the car stretching.

Santana and Kurt wandered to the utility truck to see if anything of use could be found. The Latina yelled in triumph when she found plastic tubing in the back of the truck to help siphon the gas. Kurt smiled up at her and extended a hand to help her down.

"Come on Satan, I'll show you how this whole sucking thing is done."

Santana grimaced. "You do remember I'm gay right?"

"Well maybe that's because you never learned the proper technique." Kurt laughed at the furious look on Santana's face. "Or…maybe it's because you haven't been able to keep your hands or at the very least your eyes off of Brittany since we were all twelve. You can put the razor blades back in the weave."

Santana finally gave a nod as they got to work on the gas tank. Brittany and Rachel began sorting through the bags to prepare a makeshift meal for the group while Quinn finally relieved herself by the road. The blonde was just rounding the truck to rejoin the others when she saw a group of seven guys walking toward them. Even from a distance, she could still see the men were armed with axes and some had handguns on their hips.

"Guys, heads up." Quinn hissed.

As the men came closer, Rachel gasped and reached for Kurt's arm. The men looked sickly with their pale skin and dark circles under their bloodshot eyes. The two men in front had bald patches in their hair.

"The fuck…" Santana mumbled. "Please tell me we did not survive a nuclear apocalypse to wander into a zombie one. B, where are the keys?"

"Still in the ignition." Brittany responded quietly, eyeing the newcomers.

"They're behind us too." Quinn said, stepping away from the car. She squared her shoulders and took a few steps toward the first approaching group. "Stop right there."

The men glanced back and forth, a few of them smirking. One man in the back of the group began coughing. Quinn cringed as the man straightened back up after spitting a mouthful of blood. They each thought of Creasy's warnings and graphic descriptions of those affected from radiation poisoning.

"Hey there honey." The lead man called. "Just the five of you there? Whatcha got in the truck?"

"None of your fucking business." Santana called from next to the driver's side door.

Rachel closed the back hatch of the SUV hoping to shield the contents from the men. Brittany nodded to her as she came to stand next to her, keeping an eye on the group approaching from behind them. They too were similarly armed with baseball bats and one with a shotgun.

"No need to get nasty." He called again. "We don't want any trouble. Just can't be too careful now a-days."

"Yeah, we feel the same way." Quinn replied. "So…are you guys ok?"

"Ok?" Brittany asked quietly. "They're practically glow in the dark."

Santana snickered.

"What did she say?" The lead guy yelled. "What the fuck did she say? Here we are just trying to be friendly and you have to go be a bitch."

"She didn't say anything." Santana yelled in reply. "And you better watch who you're calling a bitch."

Quinn raised her hands defensively, hoping to ease the tension. "Alright, let's just relax ok? What can we help you with?"

One of the men in the back coughed again and the leader glanced over his shoulder quickly before gazing back to the group by the SUV. "Well, as you can see…we seem to be fighting off a little bug. We need all the supplies we can get our hands on. And that car sure would come in handy…"

"Yeah, it's come in pretty handy for us too." Santana called, feeling her muscles tense in anticipation.

"Well you're on our road and that bitch insulted us so as payment we want your car." The man replied, pulling a handgun from the holster on his hip. "Give us the car and we'll call it even."

As the others in the group pulled out the pistols as well, Santana growled. "That's it, get in the car. Get in the _fucking_ car!"

The brunette hopped into the driver's seat with Quinn quickly sprinting for the front passenger seat leaving the rest to scramble into the back. The men yelled and some ran toward the SUV while others stood their ground. The leader was the first to fire shots at them.

As soon as Santana heard the doors slam, she stomped on the gas pedal. Dirt and gravel sprayed behind the car as they sped towards the men. The men continued to fire at the car and the sound of the bullets dinging the metal of the car left them flinching.

When the back windshield shattered, even Santana had to swallow a scream. When she heard Brittany cry out, the brunette quickly glanced over her shoulder. "Brittany? Are you ok?"

"Shit Santana, just drive!" Quinn screamed.

Santana turned her gaze back to the road ahead of her, once again smashing the gas pedal. She cringed when one of the men bounced off the side of the car as she barreled down the road. Bullets continued to hit the vehicle until finally they veered around a turn, tires squealing.

"Oh my God." Rachel cried. "Kurt? Kurt! He's bleeding. Kurt!"

It was then that they noticed the passenger window he was leaning against had a small hole through it. Kurt was slumped forward with a hand clasped against his neck.

"Shit, shit!" Santana yelled, frantically glancing back and forth from the road in front of her and the rearview mirror. "Fuck, what do we do?"

"Rachel," Quinn exclaimed, turning in her seat to get a better view. "Rachel, keep pressure on it. Keep going a little further San, we can't let them catch up to us."

Brittany helped Rachel lay Kurt across the bench seat when he seemed to collapse against her. Santana drove for another few miles before pulling the car off onto a smaller dirt road. She continued on until they came to a fairly secluded spot and she felt relatively safe that they were far enough away from the group of men. As soon as the car came to a stop, they all scrambled to pull Kurt out and onto the ground.

Blood was still flowing out of the wound to his neck. Rachel grasped his hand tightly and dropped to her knees next to him, tears already streaming down her cheeks. "Hang on Kurt, please!"

Quinn pressed her hand to the hole, trying in vain to stop the bleeding. Brittany whipped her white tank top off and threw it toward the other blonde, hoping it would help as well. Kurt released a gargled cough and blood spewed from between his lips. He gagged slightly which only made him cough more. He squeezed Rachel's hand once before moaning out a sigh as his grip released and his eyes slid closed.

"No." Rachel whimpered. "Kurt? No! You can't leave me here please! _Kurt_!"

Rachel collapsed on Kurt's chest, fisting his shirt in her hands as she sobbed. Quinn and Santana simply stared in shock. Brittany finally gathered Rachel into her arms and rocked her gently, her own tears falling freely.

The friends were too stunned to move. Finally, after nearly a half an hour, Santana cleared her throat before speaking softly. "We…we can't stay here. Those guys aren't that far behind us."

"We can't just leave him here!" Rachel cried, fresh tears beginning to flow. "We have to bury him!"

"Of course we'll bury him Rachel." Brittany interrupted firmly, leaving no room for argument. She glanced back to Santana who had a pained look on her face. "We're not going to just leave him here. We're not animals; of course we're going to bury him."

"I'll see what I can find to dig with." Quinn said quietly.

Santana nodded and rose to help the blonde when she noticed blood still trickling down Brittany's arm. "Brittany, you're bleeding!"

Even Rachel looked frantically at the blonde as Quinn and Santana swarmed her. "It's nothing you guys." Brittany insisted. "It's just a scratch."

Santana scrambled closer and gently pulled Brittany's arm to her. It appeared a bullet had grazed her upper arm, leaving a gash. It was still bleeding but didn't appear to be too serious. Still, Santana felt her heart pounding in her chest.

"We have to clean this…and maybe it needs stitches." She said, trying to keep her nerves calm.

Brittany shook her head and reached for one of Santana's hands with her own free hand. "Not until after we take care of Kurt. I'm fine Santana…we have to bury our dolphin."

"Here." Quinn said quietly, kneeling next to the women. "At least let me tie this around your arm to stop the bleeding."

Brittany nodded and Quinn began tying what appeared to be a sock around her upper arm. "Sorry, but it has to be tight." She said when the taller blonde hissed as she tied it.

Santana helped Brittany to her feet and the three moved to the back of the SUV to see if anything would be helpful in the task of burying their friend. She helped her into a new t-shirt they picked up from the store, her hands still shaking.

They finally settled on using the knives to loosen the dirt and their empty food cans to shovel bits at a time. It was slow going even with the three of them. Rachel finally left Kurt's side to aid in the digging.

By the time the hole was deep enough to allow them to fully cover Kurt; the four were drenched in sweat and covered in dirt, not to mention the dried blood. No one complained however.

Quinn cleaned Brittany's arm with a bit of their bottled water and tied a clean sock around the wound as a bandage. Santana stood over the two anxiously chewing on her nails while Quinn worked. They were all silent except for Rachel's sniffling as they finally pulled away from the site, their hearts heavy at leaving behind a friend.

xxxx

They continued heading west, doing their best to avoid major cities and towns. Rachel for the most part was withdrawn, even quieter than the others had become. They started looking for a place to stop for the night when Brittany's stomach rumbling from hunger could be heard over the engine of the car.

"If we stop soon we'll still only have a few more hours until we get to Lima tomorrow." Quinn said softly. "Or I guess we could just drive the rest of the way tonight."

Santana shook her head in the front passenger seat. "I'm not sure we should get there after dark. I mean…after today…I think we should stop for the night. B, what do you think?"

She glanced back to where Rachel was resting with her head in the blonde's lap while Brittany played with her dark hair. She met Santana's worried gaze and smiled softly. "I agree with you San. Seems safer to stop for the night. Is that ok with you Rachel?"

"It's fine." Rachel replied with a sigh, her voice thick and raspy. Brittany squeezed her shoulder once before returning to playing with her hair.

As luck would have it, they came across a small farmhouse with a rundown fence around it. There were no animals in the fields and the barn doors were hanging off the hinges. The house itself was similarly rundown and no vehicles could be seen.

Quinn pulled the SUV to a stop at the end of the dirt driveway. Seeing no movement ahead, she slowly inched the car forward before parking just outside the small house.

"Santana and I will check it out." Quinn said. "Brittany, you and Rachel stay here. Keep the car running in case we need to make a run for it. If you see anything or anyone, just honk the horn ok?"

Brittany nodded and helped Rachel pull herself to a seated position. "Take Liam's gun. And a knife."

Santana and Quinn slipped from the car, armed with the handgun and a knife. The sun was sinking low and they had to squint against the brightness as it shone from behind the house. "Well let's go. It'll be dark soon."

Before Santana could step further away from the vehicle, Brittany reached for her hand, linking their pinkies. "Be careful ok?" She glanced from the brunette to Quinn making both nod in agreement before she let go of Santana's hand.

Brittany and Rachel sat in tense silence while Quinn and Santana disappeared into the house. The blonde was fairly certain she didn't breathe until she saw Santana step back out onto the porch and wave the two inside.

"It's empty." Santana said as they stepped inside with them. "Like completely empty. No food or clothes, not even any furniture. But at least we'll be inside."

"Maybe we should put the car in the barn." Quinn said from the doorway. "And maybe there's something in the barn that'll be useful."

"I'll come with you." Rachel said quietly. "No time to mope right? We are in the middle of the end of the world right? I can make myself useful."

Brittany frowned from her spot next to Santana. "Rach…don't do that. You can be sad…we all are."

Quinn nodded in agreement. "She's right Rachel. None of us really have any idea what's going on and now Kurt is gone. We're all struggling."

Rachel said nothing further and simply headed outside with Quinn to move the car. Brittany glanced to Santana who had remained silent. "San?"

The brunette was staring at the ground, her jaw clenched. She then moved through the house to where she could see the barn in the back field without answering the blonde. She watched intently until she saw Quinn and Rachel walking back to the house.

"Guess what we found." Quinn said smiling. "A gas generator…and a can of gas. I just bet since this place is out here in the country that it has well water. Which means we just need to hook up this generator to the pump and hot water heater and we can take a hot shower!"

Brittany's brow furrowed and Santana cocked a lone brow. "You say that like it's an easy thing to do."

Even Rachel chuckled at the evident confusion from the pair. Quinn just shook her head and smiled wryly. "You two better be grateful to be riding out the apocalypse with me. Seriously, what would do without me?"

"Let's just see you get this thing up and running before you get all cocky Fabray." Santana replied with an eye roll.

"Come on Rach, give me a hand." Quinn said in reply. The two slipped back outside then and headed back to the barn to bring the generator closer. A half an hour later, the friends cheered in triumph as the water from the spigot turned warm. The generator was only strong enough to run the water but no one complained about taking a warm shower in the dark.

"Ya know San," Brittany said softly. "We could save hot water if we shower together."

Quinn smirked as she stood toweling her hair dry while Rachel showered in the next room. Santana had seemed withdrawn since stopping for the night. When her only response to Brittany was a small nod, the blonde knew something was wrong.

A few minutes later when Rachel emerged, Brittany took Santana by the hand and led her out of the room. Quinn watched them go, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Brittany asked softly when they were finally alone in the bathroom. "I mean other than the obvious end of the world stuff and Kurt..."

Santana sighed wearily. She suddenly seemed so tired and small in front of the taller woman. When her bottom lip began to quiver, Brittany quickly threw her arms around her and hugged her tightly.

Knowing she needed time to gather her thoughts, the blonde allowed Santana a few moments to compose herself before pulling back slightly. She gently thumbed the brunette's tears away and then leaned back in to press a kiss to Santana's forehead. She then silently helped the smaller woman undress before guiding her into the shower.

Santana seemed to relax as warm water washed over her for the first time since the bombs dropped. Brittany helped wash away the dirt and sweat and tears the day had brought.

"Ready to talk to me?" the blonde asked as she wrapped her arms tightly around the brunette from behind.

Santana sighed. "I just…what if I hadn't opened my mouth? What if I hadn't been an ass? What if we had just given them the truck?"

"Santana," Brittany said, firmly gripping the brunette's shoulders and turning her so they were finally face to face. "Those guys would never have just left us alone and you know it. Everything is different now and we can't change what happened. We just have to keep going. What happened to Kurt was not your fault. I started it by saying they were like glow sticks…do you blame me?"

"What? Of course not!" Santana exclaimed.

"Ok. So how can you blame yourself? Baby none of this is your fault…none of it."

Santana felt tears welling again and stepped closer to Brittany, dropping her head on the taller woman's shoulder. The blonde held her tightly, letting the warm water continue to wash over them. Finally, Santana glanced up into bright blue eyes. Brittany leaned down and pressed their lips together.

"Can we please have shower sex now? It's been months."

Santana snorted out a laugh and buried her head in Brittany's neck. "I love you." She said softly.

Brittany squeezed her again and pressed a kiss to the brunette's temple. "I love you too baby. I'm going to do everything possible to take care of you and you will too. We'll be fine as long as we stick to that."

Santana finally smiled and with a nod, she pulled the blonde back into a kiss.

xxxx

The friends took turns keeping watch through the night while the others slept. When morning came, they put the gas left from the generator into the back of the SUV to use later. About two hours later, they pulled to a stop on the outskirts of Lima.

"How do we want to do this?" Quinn asked softly, leaning forward and peering over the steering wheel.

Santana popped her head up between Quinn and Brittany in the passenger seat. "B and I live like right around the corner. We could go to our places first and then move on to yours and Rachel's. Maybe two go in and two stay with the car. I'm not sure we should leave it."

"That's smart San." Brittany replied.

Santana smiled gratefully, beginning to feel more confident after Brittany's pep talk the night before. The blonde had been complementing Santana off and on all day, hoping to keep her spirits up.

"Ok, well, here we go." Quinn said warily. "We'll park out front of B's place first and keep the car running. If anything happens, and I mean anything, get the hell out of there."

Santana and Brittany nodded and each slipped from the car as it came to a stop in front of Brittany's modest two story house. They rounded the side of the house heading for the back door. The blonde reached for the door knob, somewhat surprised when she found it locked. She bent down and pulled a stone up out of the walkway, pulling the buried key out from under it.

They slipped inside after sharing a quick, shaky smile. Brittany exhaled sharply as she stepped into what used to be her kitchen. The cabinets doors had been ripped off the hinges and the dishes were shattered all over the floor. The refrigerator was tipped over and the kitchen table looked as if an ax had been taken to it.

Santana slipped her hand into Brittany's and urged her to follow her further into the home. The rest of the downstairs was in the same condition. They slowly walked up the staircase to where the two Pierce girls' rooms were.

Brittany squared her shoulders before pushing her way into her old bedroom. What few items of clothing she hadn't taken to New York were strewn all over the floor and her desk and drawers ransacked. Santana slipped in past her and bent to pick up a few items of clothing.

"We can take this with us."

Brittany just shrugged before stepping back out into the hallway and heading to her little sister's room. It too had been ransacked. Seeing her little sister's room in such a state made the blonde's heart twist.

"Where are they?" She asked. "They wouldn't just leave without taking Ally's stuff would they? They didn't even take her inhaler…or Mr. Snuggle britches."

Santana clenched her jaw as she saw Brittany picking up her little sister's favorite stuffed animal. "I don't know baby. Maybe they had to leave in a hurry."

The blonde turned back to Santana with a sad expression. As she glanced past the brunette, her jaw dropped slightly. She rushed back to the doorway where tacked randomly to the wall was a photo. Brittany reached and gently pulled the picture from the wall. She smiled at the sight of the last family photo the Pierce's had taken the year before. She flipped the photo over and on the back was written 'Fort Drum'.

"I wonder what that means." The blonde mumbled before flipping the photo back to the front and lovingly tracing a finger over the smiling faces of her parents and sister.

Santana stepped closer and gently squeezed her shoulder. "Maybe that's where everyone went and they wanted to let you know. Your mom would totally do that!"

Brittany glanced back to the brunette hopefully. "You really think so?"

"There's no reason not to think that babe."

Brittany seemed slightly more upbeat as the two made their way back out to the awaiting SUV. They hopped in and explained their findings as Quinn pulled away toward Santana's home.

They only had to drive a few streets over before they arrived in the obviously wealthy subdivision where Santana lived. The electric wrought iron fence surrounding the property was still in place; in fact as the friends came closer, the hum of electricity could be heard.

"The fuck." Santana mumbled. She sauntered to the keypad and typed in the code. As the door opened, Quinn pulled forward around the circle driveway.

Santana and Brittany nodded back to their friends as they slipped inside the large house. Where Brittany's home was in disarray, Santana's seemed as if nothing in the world was out of order. As they slipped through the main entryway, the brunette felt uneasy.

"Stay behind me." Santana whispered, clutching her knife tightly.

Brittany nodded as they slipped further inside. The living room and den showed no evidence of anything amiss and the two edged back toward the kitchen. As they stepped over the threshold into the room, Santana tensed. It was clear someone had been taking advantage of the Lopez pantry. Dishes were scattered over the counters and empty food containers were stacked near the trash can. A steaming cup of coffee was still sitting on the kitchen table.

Santana scowled and stepped further into the kitchen. Before she could react, a body came rushing from inside the pantry and had her pinned to the refrigerator with a forearm pressed to her throat. She coughed and gagged as she tried to pry the assailant off of her. Both Santana's and her attacker's eyes widened as they were only mere inches apart.

She felt the pressure on her throat lessen as Puck pulled away surprised. Before they could address each other, Brittany came flying at him, a frying pan in her hand. She swung with a growl, landing a glancing blow to his shoulder and the side of his head.

Puck fell to the floor with a howl of pain and Brittany stepped between Santana and his prone form.

"Shit! Brittany, it's ok, it's Puck!" Santana exclaimed.

Brittany just raised the pan menacingly and stepped closer to her old classmate. "What the fuck are you doing Puckerman? Did you get microwaved from the bombs too? Don't think I won't lay you out if you touch her again."

Puck raised his hands defensively. "Easy Britt, Jesus! I swear I didn't know it was you guys. Santana, are you ok, I didn't hurt you did I?"

"I'm fine." Santana replied. "Seriously Britt, I'm ok." She reached to soothe the blonde, feeling her tense muscles beneath her hand.

At Santana's urging, Brittany lowered the pan. But not before narrowing her eyes at Puck and pointing at him. "I'm watching you Puckerman."

Puck smiled, relieved the blonde had lowered her impromptu weapon. He hopped to his feet and with a 'whoop' he threw his arms around them both. "You don't know how happy I am to see you guys!"

Santana laughed and hugged him back. "Way to squat in my house and eat my food…just like old times!"

Brittany finally relaxed enough to pat him on the back before he released them. Puck seemed to forget all about being smacked with a frying pan, his excitement at seeing his friends alive his only thought at the moment.

"I should have known!" Puck exclaimed. "If anyone could survive a damn nuke apocalypse it would totally be you two."

"It's because we're awesome." Brittany replied evenly. "And Quinn and Rachel too."

"Quinn is with you?" Puck asked, a soft look passing over his face. "And Rachel too? Holy shit, this is amazing! Sam and Tina are with me…just out on a supply run. Wait, what about Kurt, he was in New York with you guys wasn't he?"

Santana and Brittany exchanged a sad look before the blonde sighed and kicked at the ground with her foot. "Some microwaved guys attacked us and Kurt didn't make it." She said softly.

"Fuck." Puck sighed, finally understanding the blonde's earlier reaction and statements. "Well, we're going to stick together and kick ass. The end of the world has nothing on us!"

Santana and Brittany had to smile at their friend's enthusiasm. When Quinn and Rachel burst into the Lopez home dragging a laughing Sam and Tina behind them, the friends once again felt hope in the midst of the devastation.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N – Thanks again for the continued interest in this story! This chapter is being posted earlier than expected and that's simply because I'm splitting it in two because it was getting out of control long. So instead of 4 chapters, it's looking more like 5, sorry to keep changing it. Again, I don't own Glee or Nothing but the Water by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.

Part three – Civilization

_This ole world has brought me pain. _

Tina and Brittany hugged excitedly while Santana smacked Sam's shoulder playfully before tousling his shaggy blonde hair. They all shared an awkward glance as Puck continued to hold Quinn tightly after rushing and scooping her up into a bone crushing hug. The blonde blushed when Puck finally settled her back onto her feet but still kept an arm draped over her shoulders.

"Ok, so can someone explain to me why my house is home base for you people?" Santana asked once the friends settled down from their greetings. "And how the fuck is the electric fence still working?"

Puck laughed. "Why not your place? Ma and Pa Lopez sure know how to stock a pantry. Not to mention the basement…have you seen the supplies down there? Were your parents' doomsday nuts or something?"

Brittany lightly grazed Santana's arm when she noticed the smaller woman tense at Puck's choice of words. "Puck," she said still lightly rubbing Santana's arm, "do mind telling us what's going on? Where are our parents? My place was wrecked. Where is everyone?"

"That's the thing," Sam interjected. "We're not really sure. I'd been out in California hanging out with Puck when DC was hit. We just got in the car and started driving. By the time we got here…New York had been hit…and Detroit and Chicago…hell just about every major city was hit somehow. Lima was pretty much empty when we got here, except for looters."

"Yeah." Puck said sullenly, running a hand over his shaved head. "We're lucky we got in here. A lot of houses have been ransacked or even torched. But this place is like a fort and we've been able to pick up a signal on an old AM radio we found in your basement. It's a fucking mess out there. Apparently California is just gone, blown off the map. We got out of there just in time."

"What about Mercedes?" Rachel asked softly. "Why isn't she with you Sam?"

The blonde sighed. "She broke up with me six months ago. I went out to California hoping to change her mind but…She wouldn't even see me. Had I known California was going to be blasted I would have dragged her out of there and thrown her in the trunk of the car if I had to…"

Tina dropped a hand to his shoulder and smiled sadly. "Maybe she got out…we don't know. I talked to Mike the day before Chicago was hit. He said he was coming here to meet me and we'd go north into Canada. He hasn't made it here yet…But he will, I know he will!"

"What kind of signals have you picked up?" Quinn asked, hoping to change the subject from her friends' absent lovers. "Santana and Brittany found a picture with 'Fort Drum' written on the back of it in Britt's house. Any idea what that could mean?"

"I've been here in Lima for about a month now." Tina said quietly. "I came straight here after talking to Mike and there were still some people here…Burt and Carol Hummel, Mr. Schuester and Ms. Pillsbury. They were heading to Fort Drum, an army base in upstate New York. Apparently that's where Finn is stationed and he got word to them that they were taking in survivors."

At the mention of Finn, everyone glanced at Rachel. She squared her shoulders but said nothing before Tina continued. "There was no sign of my parents so the Hummels tried to get me to go with them but I couldn't leave until Mike got here. It was just chaos, everyone scrambling to get out. Looters had already raided the stores and even burned down some of the houses. I didn't see your parents Britt but maybe they went too. And maybe yours too Santana, I don't know."

Santana reached and clasped Brittany's hand in her own with a squeeze. "Kurt would be so glad to know his dad was ok." The blonde said softly. A somber silence settled over them at the mention of yet another lost friend.

"What about my mom?" Quinn asked quietly from her spot next to Puck after a few more moments of silence. "And my house…we were planning to check out my place and Rachel's after checking Brittany and Santana's. I want to go to my house."

Puck looked like he might be sick suddenly and scuffed his foot on the floor. "What?" Quinn exclaimed. "Puck?"

"You can't go there." He replied lowly. "Promise me you won't go home Quinn. Promise!"

The blonde looked shaken for a split second before raising her head defiantly, looking every bit like her former head cheerleader persona. "Don't tell me what to do Puck, I'm not a child. If you know something about my mother you tell me right now!"

Tina stepped closer, prepared to comfort Quinn or stop her from rushing out of the house depending on how the news was taken. Puck clenched his jaw.

"I'm so sorry Quinn." He said softly. "Looters…They hit your house, practically burned it to the ground. And your mom…Sam and I buried her but…she was in the kitchen and it didn't burn so there was blood-"

"That's enough." Brittany interrupted. She stepped closer to Quinn who remained frozen, fighting the tears that began to spring up in her eyes.

The shorter blonde was trembling with the effort to keep her emotions in check. "Alcohol, any alcohol in this basement?"

"Quinn." Brittany said gently.

"Just leave me alone." She muttered before disappearing through the doorway that led from the kitchen to the basement.

Puck looked torn as he watched her go. He took a step toward the basement door but Santana stepped in front of him and placed a hand on his chest. "Give her a little time to herself. She can't sneak out of the basement, there's no outside door, just this one. Just give her a few minutes ok?"

Puck finally nodded and moved to the table, being sure to sit where he could see the basement door. Tina motioned for Sam to also take a seat at the table where she quickly helped him roll up the sleeve of his shirt where a bandage covered his forearm. Tina gently unwrapped the bandage to reveal a long, angry looking cut that had been stitched.

"It's looking good." Tina muttered as she leaned in to get a better look. "No infection or anything, that's good."

Sam smiled gratefully as she began to wrap a fresh bandage around his arm.

"Hey, did you stitch that?" Santana exclaimed. At Tina's brief nod, Santana narrowed her eyes in disbelief. "Where in the hell did you learn that? I mean I know Asians are smart and all but no way have you had time to go to medical school."

Tina chuckled. "I worked part time in an animal hospital to help pay for singing lessons. It's amazing the things you can pick up after you watch enough animal surgeries."

Santana turned and quickly ushered Brittany closer. "Can you take a look at Britt's arm too?"

"San, my arm is fine. It's just a scratch." Brittany insisted.

But Santana was already gently pushing the blonde into a seat and pushing up the sleeve of the t-shirt Brittany was wearing. Tina finished wrapping Sam's arm and quickly moved closer to the blonde. Santana once again began to chew on her nail nervously as Tina examined the healing wound on Brittany's arm.

"It's not too bad." Tina said softly. "You don't need stitches or anything. I'll just put some antibiotic ointment on it and you should be good as new."

She pulled her small makeshift first aid kit closer and pulled out a small tube. Brittany hissed when the cream hit her arm.

"That stings." She said with a pout. Santana stepped closer, eyeing Tina almost menacingly at the blonde's exclamation of pain.

"That's a good thing." Tina said, ignoring the feel of Santana's eyes drilling holes into her. "That means the medicine is working. It's gotten a little infected around the edges; this will take care of it."

Brittany smiled finally. The sight made Santana relax, if only slightly. When Tina finally stepped away from the blonde, Santana dropped to her knees next to her. She leaned in and blew softly on Brittany's arm, hoping to ease the sting.

Brittany reached with her uninjured arm and tucked dark hair behind Santana's ear, smiling sweetly. "Thank you San."

Santana blushed slightly as she stood back to her feet. She cleared her throat awkwardly when she saw her newly rediscovered friends smirking at her show of affection. "So, what do you say we head on out to Berry's house. That was the plan after all. You can keep an eye on Quinn right?"

"Oh, uh, no." Sam mumbled. "That's probably not a good idea."

"Why the fuck not fish face." Santana snapped.

Sam sighed and glanced at Rachel who had been observing quietly. "Because Tina and I just came from that side of town. The Berry house has already been hit by looters. But don't worry Rach, there was no sign that anything happened to your dads. They probably got out with the rest of them. But that side of town is crawling with those sick looking freaks."

Rachel's jaw dropped incredulously. "I highly doubt they would just leave without me! We have to look for them! What if they're holed up somewhere waiting to be rescued from those infected looters!"

"Rachel," Brittany said softly. "They had to have known New York was bombed. They couldn't know we lived. If they're not here then they probably did go to Fort Drumstick with the rest of them. It's good they're not here…not like Mrs. Fabray. And San, I don't want to leave Quinn, not right now. She needs us."

Rachel sighed and shrugged. At the mention of their best friend's mother, Santana and Brittany exchanged a sad glance. "Come on B." Santana said softly. "You're right. Let's go check on Q and see what she wants to do now."

Brittany nodded and the two slowly made their way down to the basement, unsure of what state their friend would be in. They stopped short when they found Quinn sitting in the middle of the floor with tears streaming down her cheeks and a rifle in her lap.

"Holy shit Q." Santana muttered.

Brittany eased forward until she was on her knees directly in front of the shorter blonde. "Quinn? Honey, talk to us…without the gun please."

Quinn wiped furiously at her cheeks before setting the gun off to the side. Brittany tentatively dropped a hand to the other blonde's thigh, rubbing soothing circles. They sat for a few more moments in silence before Quinn was able to speak.

"My mom tried, really tried after Beth was born ya know?" She said, her voice thick with tears. "She was so proud. Of me for getting into Yale…of herself for being able to stand on her own two feet after leaving my dad. I thought I'd find her here. Oh God…they killed my mom!"

Brittany pulled Quinn closer and wrapped her arms around her tightly. Santana scooted in closer as well and wrapped her arms around them both as Quinn buried her head on Brittany's shoulder and sobbed.

xxxx

When the three finally emerged from the basement, the day was mostly gone. Quinn was quiet as they joined their friends around the table. Puck slipped back into the room from checking the perimeter when he heard them shuffle in. He gently squeezed Quinn's shoulder in passing.

"I'd still like to go to my house." Rachel said softly.

"No." Puck replied immediately. "We don't go out after dark and it'll be dark before long."

"Why don't we go out after dark?" Rachel continued, refusing to back down.

Puck and Sam exchanged a dark look. "Because there's nothing but trouble in town now after dark." Sam replied. "Looters and all. It's not safe. And there are more of those guys around like the ones you ran into when Kurt…"

"Microwaveables…or radioed or whatever." Brittany mumbled. "What are they doing here?"

"The only thing we can figure is that they're moving away from the bigger cities." Sam replied. "We heard Cleveland was even nuked. _Cleveland_ for Christ's sake! Have you gotten a good look at those guys? They look like zombies."

"We saw." Quinn said evenly. "Are they the ones that killed my mom?"

Puck clenched his jaw and nodded slightly. "They were crawling all over the place. It's like they've all gone insane."

"It's the radiation poisoning." Rachel added. "We spent two months in a fallout shelter with our landlord and he would rant and rave about the effects of radiation poisoning. It does pretty much drive you insane. And make your hair fall out…and you don't know want to know what happens to your insides."

"Mush." Brittany interjected.

Santana reached and took the blonde's hand in her own. "Puck, you never did explain how you've kept the electric fence going."

Puck smirked. "Like I said, your parents' know how to stock a pantry and a cellar. They had three generators down there. Did you know about that shit? Generators and guns, a shitload of food and bottled water. Even alcohol. They had a few drums of gasoline down there too so I just hooked up the generators to the fence and the fridge. No lights though, we don't want anymore of those infected freaks spotting us. A few got fried on the fence trying to get in, not pretty."

"We have to decide what we're going to do next." Quinn said, ending the gruesome conversation. "We can stay here and do nothing or we can get the fuck out of here and try to find our…your families."

They all glanced at each other, no one sure what to say. Tina finally spoke up first. "Well I'm not leaving without Mike."

Santana turned to glare at her, ignoring Brittany's pleading look. "Are you shitting me? You're just going to sit around here waiting for boy Chang when you said yourself that Chicago was wiped off the map. What are you gonna do when the gas for the generators runs out? No way, that's crazy!"

"It's not crazy Santana!" Tina insisted. "What if Brittany hadn't been with you. Would just leave her?"

Santana rolled her eyes. "Of course not, but that's not reality! Reality is…we're in the middle of a fucking nuclear apocalypse. We have to stick together and I sure as hell don't want to just wait around here for one of those sick fuckers to slit my throat. We'll leave Mike a note saying where we went in case he ever shows. You stay here alone waiting on him and you're as good as dead. You want him to come here and find you like that?"

The friends continued to argue about what to do, even over the small dinner Rachel and Brittany prepared. Quinn was quiet for the remainder of the evening, lost in her sorrow and thoughts.

Even the next morning as the others were once again discussing whether to go or stay, Tina was adamant she would remain behind. It was finally Quinn who pulled her aside. No one knew what she said to convince her to go but Tina finally agreed that she would leave with the others.

They quickly set about loading the Lopez supplies into the back of the SUV. "We're going to need another car; we don't all fit into one." Puck said, wiping the sweat from his brow as he dropped another case of water into the back.

Santana scratched her neck as she gazed out across the yard to the closest neighboring house. "Maybe the Wilson's left one of their three Escalades behind. Baby, you feel like using your mad skills this early in the morning?"

Brittany stretched with a yawn and nodded. "I'm always up for a good car jacking."

Rachel chuckled behind them. "Mind if I come too? I could use a break from all this lifting and I could keep watch to make sure none of the infected spot you."

"Sure hobbit." Santana replied with a smirk. "Sure you don't just want to learn how to jack a car? It's ok if you do…can't be a little princess forever."

"If I have to remind you one more time of the great lengths I have already gone to for you and our little merry band of survivors I may just…just…just go all Lima Heights on your ass!" Rachel exclaimed.

Santana barked out a laugh and Brittany nodded in appreciation. "Good one Rach!" the blonde replied. "You're really picking up on the badassery. Just next time…it's 'on yo' ass', not 'your ass.' Just sounds more fierce. But great progress!"

Puck shook his head chuckling at the three. "That's great and all but I'm not comfortable with you three going out without protection."

"Protection?" Santana asked incredulously. "What the fuck do I look like Puckerman? And correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Brittz here just whoop yo' ass yesterday with a frying pan?"

Sam laughed and clapped Puck on the back. Puck on the other hand scowled. "Still, I'd rather someone who actually knows how to use a gun to go with you guys."

"Don't worry, I'm going with them."

They all turned to see Quinn saunter out of the house with a rifle slung over her shoulder.

"Damn…that's hot." Brittany mumbled.

Santana glared at her girlfriend before turning back to Quinn. At a loss for what else to do, she simply shrugged and nodded in agreement. Puck was practically drooling as Quinn strode past.

"Well, come on, we don't have all day." The three scrambled after Quinn as she began to walk away from the house.

They waited until the gate swung open and then carefully walked down the long driveway to the Wilson's house. It too was surrounded by a tall wrought iron fence but unlike the Lopez home, there was no power to keep the electric fence activated.

Brittany squatted in front of the locked gate, staring at the locking mechanism thoughtfully before setting to work. Santana just smirked as the gate swung open a few minutes later.

"That one was tough." The blonde said with a pout. "Took twice as long as it should have."

"Well seeing as it was an electric gate and you managed to get it open with a hairpin and your chewing gum, I'd say it was still quite the success." Rachel replied, still somewhat in shock.

"Aw, thanks Rach." Brittany replied with a wide smile. She bent and chastely kissed Rachel on the cheek before heading onto the Wilson property. Rachel squeaked at Santana's jealous glare.

Both brunettes scrambled after the tall blonde with Quinn taking up the rear keeping a watchful eye out. They were unable to raise the garage door from the outside so Quinn and Brittany had to hoist Santana up and through a broken window. From inside the garage the brunette opened a side door, allowing the others inside where a lone SUV sat waiting.

"Rachel, keep watch outside and yell if you see anything." Quinn ordered.

She nodded and slipped back outside, rounding the corner alone. Brittany stepped to the car, frowning when she found the door locked. "Who locks their car in their own garage? Paranoid much?"

The blonde set to work while Quinn paced by the door and Santana watched over Brittany with a lustful gleam in her eye. When the door popped open, all three smirked.

"Rachel, you ok?" Quinn called. "Rachel?"

The roar of the engine filled the garage as Quinn strained to hear Rachel's reply. She turned and waved for Brittany to dismantle the wiring. The taller blonde frowned but quickly twisted the wires to disconnect the engine.

Rachel's screams were already echoing through the door when the engine cut off. Quinn turned and sprinted out the door to help with Santana and Brittany close behind. As they rounded the corner of the house Quinn was already shouldering the rifle. Rachel was at the far end of the house screaming and struggling with the man on top of her.

She managed to scramble out from under him just long enough for him to grab her from behind and sink his teeth into the juncture of her neck and shoulder. She shrieked in pain as he flipped her backwards onto her back and continued to rip at her shirt.

Quinn planted her feet and took aim, briefly holding her breath as she squeezed the trigger. Rachel screamed again as the man's head whipped sideways, blood spraying everywhere as the bullet ripped through his temple. They rushed toward her as she frantically swiped at the blood she felt splattered on her cheeks.

"Rachel? Rachel are you alright?" Santana and Brittany asked frantically, trying to calm the other woman.

Quinn nudged the fallen man's shoulder with her foot, flipping him over to lie on his back. The sight of his gray, sunken face made bile rise in her throat. Rachel's blood from the bite wound still trickled from his lips and his eyes were blood red and unseeing. From this close distance she could also see the bald patches on the man's head. He had even lost his eyebrows giving him an even ghastlier appearance.

Rachel finally stopped screaming as Brittany helped wipe her face clean. Quinn quickly raised the rifle again at the sound of footsteps thundering up the driveway. Puck and Sam came storming around the house, handguns ready. The blonde lowered her weapon.

"It's ok, we're ok." She called. "Right Rachel? You're ok right?"

The brunette could barely nod in response she was trembling so badly. Brittany hugged Rachel close, soothingly stroking a hand through her long hair. Santana reached and pulled the ripped portions of Rachel's shirt to cover her exposed chest as the boys came rushing up to them and then stood to block her from their view.

"Give us a second guys." Quinn said softly before turning back to her friends. "Rachel, can you walk?"

Rachel seemed to have calmed slightly and she finally nodded, still huddled closely to Brittany. Santana and Brittany helped pull her to her feet and helped steady her. They all tried to shield her from the sight of the infected man sprawled on the ground with his head blown open.

"You guys help Rachel; I'll go restart the car." Brittany said softly. "But don't get close to the door; I'll have to drive through it."

Just to be safe, Santana fell a step behind to make sure Brittany got into the car and got the engine going without any trouble. The sound of metal hitting metal made them cringe but as they rounded the garage, Brittany was hopping out of the driver's seat to help Rachel into the back.

"We got lucky, full tank of gas." Brittany said with a smile. "And super lucky that Quinn is a sniper."

"No shit!" Santana exclaimed. "Where the hell did you learn to shoot like that Quinn?"

The blonde shrugged and re-shouldered the rifle. "Skeet shooting at the country club I guess. My dad had to be good for something."

"So hot." Brittany whispered. Santana just frowned.

They pulled the SUV away from the house and back into the Lopez estate where Tina stood anxiously guarding the supplies and second car with another rifle. "Are you guys ok?"

Brittany nodded, once again disconnecting the wires and killing the engine. "Yeah, she does have a…bite mark if you could take a look at it? And we need to get her another shirt."

Tina scrambled to help Rachel inside to clean the wound.

"I'm sorry." Quinn muttered rubbing her forehead. "That was stupid. I shouldn't have let her out of my sight alone. Fuck!"

"Whoa, it's ok Quinn." Santana replied. "Don't beat yourself up…everything turned out ok. It could have been way worse."

"Tell that to Rachel." The blonde snapped before stomping inside the house.

Brittany dropped a hand on Santana's shoulder as they watched Quinn disappear inside. "We're gonna have to keep an eye on her…I'm worried." Brittany said softly.

Santana nodded and reached a hand up to cover Brittany's resting on her shoulder. They all quickly moved to finish loading the two cars waiting for Tina to finish with Rachel. Santana stood by the second SUV gazing back at her home as they all piled into the cars to head out.

Brittany slipped behind the brunette and hugged her, resting her chin on the smaller woman's shoulder. "Maybe someday we'll be back. You got everything out of your room you wanted right?"

Santana nodded and swallowed thickly. She turned then and they both climbed back into the SUV with Quinn and Puck in the back seats. Tina, Rachel and Sam were sitting in the first car waiting for the others to get settled.

The friends had voted to head to Fort Drum, not having any better option. So, as the afternoon sun burned from the sky, the friends pulled away from Lima without looking back.

xxxx

The friends once again stuck to back roads hoping to avoid the more populated areas where looters and the infected seemed to be gathering. They only had to stomp on the gas pedals once to rush past a group of looters who tried to force them off the road.

They drove until about an hour before sunset. They then pulled off into a small clearing and the men began erecting the two tents they had packed away. Brittany and Tina went with Rachel into the first tent while the others made camp.

Santana made sure to keep close to Quinn, much to Puck's chagrin. The brunette couldn't bring herself to care about Puck when Quinn's face finally split into a grin at Santana's continued, well-intentioned bitching.

Sam managed to get a decent fire started and they each warmed a can of ravioli for dinner. Later that evening, after the sun had set, Quinn sat gazing into the fire, her rifle right next to her. Santana quietly sat down next to her while Puck watched from across the fire.

"Get out of that head of yours Fabray."

Quinn glanced at Santana and quirked a brow. "What are you talking about Santana."

The brunette smirked and nudged her shoulder slightly. "Don't think I don't know you Quinn. I do. I know you're upset about your mom and you have every right to be. And you're beating yourself up right now for letting Rachel get caught alone. _And_ you're probably feeling guilty about killing that guy."

Quinn didn't respond, instead she just poked at the fire with the stick in her hands. Santana didn't let the blonde's silence thwart her. "Well you shouldn't…feel guilty that is. What if you hadn't been there? Who knows what would have happened to Rachel. And that…well that could have been anyone…Brittany even. So I feel a whole hell of a lot better knowing you're around with that thing. So, keep it close by…please."

Quinn finally met Santana's gaze and sighed. "It shouldn't have happened at all…but thanks."

Santana smiled softly and nudged her again. "Absolutely. I want you to sleep with that damn rifle. If for no other reason than to scare Puckerman out of knocking you up again."

Quinn and Puck both sputtered as Santana hopped up and away from them, the blonde blushing furiously.

"Well," Santana called over her shoulder, "I'm off to see if Berry is ready to let go of my girlfriend. You two behave yourselves. The apocalypse is no time to bring a child into the world."

At that, Sam announced with a chuckle he would take the first watch, leaving Quinn and Puck alone by the fire. Puck moved to settle in next to her and with a sigh, Quinn leaned into him and dropped her head onto his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her and the two then sat quietly gazing into the flames.

"I've been so freaked out and busy trying to survive that I haven't even taken a second to wonder where Shelby and Beth are." Quinn said softly.

Puck rubbed her arm soothingly. "Don't worry, I've thought about her enough for the both of us…I really hope they're ok. If I knew where she was I'd go get her in a heartbeat. But part of me doesn't want her to have to grow up in a world where people kill each other over canned ravioli."

Quinn glanced up into his troubled face. She pressed a soft kiss to his shoulder and sighed. "You're a good guy Noah. I'm really glad you're here."

Puck smiled and pressed a kiss to her temple before they returned their gazes to the fire.

xxxx

Santana popped her head into the tent where Tina and Brittany were sitting with Rachel. The blonde glance up and smiled at the sight of her girlfriend.

"Tina, you ok to stay here with her?" Brittany asked quietly, already scooting away from the sleeping woman and trying not to wake her. Tina nodded and shooed her away with a somewhat sad smile, her thoughts automatically drifting back to Mike.

Brittany slipped out of the tent and took Santana's hand, pulling her toward the second tent that was set up a short way away from the others but still relatively close for safety sake.

"I was expecting Quinn and Puck to already have claimed this one." Santana said as Brittany pulled her down onto the sleeping bags covering the floor of the tent.

Brittany chuckled and pulled Santana closer, the smaller woman settling her head on the blonde's chest and snuggling contentedly.

"Puck's a good guy." Brittany mumbled into Santana's dark hair. "But he better treat her right or I'll have to find that frying pan again."

Santana laughed and squeezed the blonde, throwing a leg over Brittany and twining their legs together. "That was easily one of the hottest things I've ever seen…that and your badass car jacking, lock picking hotness."

Brittany smiled and palmed Santana's ass, swatting playfully. "Is Quinn ok?"

Santana hummed out a sigh and nodded against the blonde's chest. "I think so. Is Rachel?"

"Yeah, just shaken up but she's ok. Tina is going to stay with her tonight."

"Good." Santana replied. "Quinn might crash in here with us later…much later hopefully."

Brittany laughed again when Santana moved to fully straddle her, a saucy grin on her face. She leaned down and kissed Brittany, her hands sliding up under the thin t-shirt. The blonde moaned into the kiss, reaching up to pull Santana flush against her.

Santana smiled against her lips. "Tell me B…am I making you hot?"

Brittany nodded eagerly, canting her hips upward in anticipation. Santana slid down the blonde's body slightly, trailing kisses down her neck as she went. "And you think I'm hot right?"

"So hot." Brittany panted, tangling her hands in Santana's dark hair, urging her to move lower.

The brunette sat up then abruptly and glared at the woman below her, causing Brittany to whimper at the loss. "Hotter than Quinn with her gun?" Santana said evenly with a scowl. Brittany's face registered shock first and then she whimpered.

Santana couldn't help but chuckle at Brittany's expression. The Latina wasn't certain if the hurt pout was from Santana ending their make out session or the fact that Brittany was actually worried the brunette's feelings were hurt.

"Santana…of course!" she exclaimed, not registering the fact the other woman was smiling. "You're my girl! You're super hot all the time! You don't need an awesome gun to be hot…wait…are you messing with me?"

Santana's smiled bloomed into full blown laughter before dying down to soft chuckles as Brittany stared expectantly. "I'm totally messing with you. In what universe would baby mama ever be hotter than me?"

"Oh I don't know…that gun makes her pretty hot." The blonde replied with a smirk.

"Is that so? Well why don't you go see if she'll go down on you…I'm not really feeling it right now. And since you so obviously prefer her…"

Brittany's face fell. "No, San I was kidding, I swear! You're perfect and I love you and…are you messing with me again?"

Santana was already almost doubled over in laughter.

"Oh, you are so gonna get it!" Brittany exclaimed, finally laughing as well.

With strength that never ceased to amaze Santana, the blonde flipped them with almost no effort and the Latina found herself pinned beneath a smirking Brittany. She pinned Santana's arms above her head with one hand and quickly began tickling the brunette's exposed side with her other.

xxxx

Quinn stopped in her tracks just outside of the tent she was planning to share with her friends when the loud giggling turned to breathy moans.

"Think I'll just give them a few more minutes." She muttered to herself. She turned on her heel and headed back for the fire where Puck just shook his head at her return.

About an hour later the blonde quietly slipped back into the tent and smiled at the sight of the blonde lying on her back with Santana on her side, her face pressed into Brittany's neck. The brunette had her arm slung across the blonde's slim waist.

Quinn dropped down on Brittany's free side and also scooted in close. In her sleep, Brittany draped an arm around Quinn's shoulders and pulled her even closer. The smaller blonde smiled and reached to take Santana's hand, resting them on Brittany's stomach.

"'Night Q." Santana mumbled in her sleep.

"Goodnight Santana." Quinn whispered, feeling safe for the first time since the world was turned upside down.

xxxx

"I don't like it." Santana insisted the following day.

They had pulled to a stop after a few hours of driving when the gas began to run low in the original SUV. Unfortunately the gasoline at the Lopez house had been almost completely gone after keeping the electric fence going for weeks.

"Well Santana," Sam replied patiently. "What do you suggest we do, keep driving and wait to run out of gas sometime when we're surrounded by looters? This car won't make into that town down there. Its better we split up and a few of us take this one down into town and get some more gas. We bring it back here and we're back on the road."

"But why do Brittany and I have to split up?" the brunette insisted.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to Brittany." Quinn said firmly. "Tina and Sam have been making these runs for weeks now, they're good together. Just like you and Puck are."

Santana crossed her arms tightly over her chest with a scowl on her face. Quinn sighed and stepped closer, her voice low. "Besides, Rachel is still pretty shaken up…Brittany is good with her. And by the time you guys get back we'll have camp ready and warm food waiting for you."

"Not just the canned shit?"

Quinn smiled. "I'll even toast you a sandwich over the fire. You'll think you're back at that Italian place in the City with the brick oven."

"Blackmail." Santana mumbled. "Using my stomach to short-circuit my logic. I hate this! Things get fucked up when we split."

Brittany pulled the shorter woman into a tight hug. "It'll be fine San. You'll be back in no time. Don't worry about us…in fact; I'm more worried about you since our sniper won't be with you. Be careful ok?"

Santana nodded and pulled away from the blonde with a frown. She and Puck hopped into the back seats while Tina and Sam slid into the front.

"Puckerman!" Brittany called before they pulled away. "Don't forget about that frying pan!"

Puck cringed at the memory but nodded before the SUV pulled away. The three left behind watched the car until it faded from view.

xxxx


	4. Chapter 4

A/N – Ok, so here is the second half of part three, sorry for the confusion :) I had planned to have this up on Monday but I had company in town over the weekend and got nothing done. As always, thanks for sticking with this! To those of you who take the time to drop a review, you're awesome! I don't own anything you recognize. To any Finn lovers out there…I'm not one so…sorry? And sorry if the pacing is a little rushed but the chapter is already late and I don't have a beta. I reviewed everything to try to catch my mistakes but I'm not 100% happy with it. But enough from me.

Civilization – part 2

_This ole world has brought me pain_

xxxx

_Overlooking New York City_

The two men sighed as they took in the sight before them. New York City was pure devastation. Not a single building was standing and there were no signs of life anywhere.

"What now?" the younger man asked softly.

His father sighed and ran a hand over his graying beard. "I promised your mother we would try to find them. And we have. I won't allow her to lose her son as well."

Tomas Lopez turned to his father with a pained look. Dr. Lopez's jaw was clenched and his eyes were misty as he gazed down at the destruction. "But if anyone could survive, it would be Santana Papí."

"We waited in Lima for weeks. And we waited at Fort Drum. But look down there Tomas, how could they have survived? How could anyone?"

The younger man clenched his fists. "This will kill Mama. And Mrs. Pierce…especially after Mr. Pierce…"

Dr. Lopez reached and squeezed his son's shoulder. "It will. Which is why we must go back. Your mother cannot bear to lose another child. And neither can I."

The older man's voice was strained making his accent even more prominent than usual. They both turned away from the city and climbed back into their truck. With heavy hearts they turned and began the drive back to where what was left of their families was waiting.

xxxx

"Well, we should probably get started on building a fire." Quinn said finally after watching the SUV fade from sight.

Brittany sighed and nodded, her shoulders drooping. "Do you realize this is the first time we've been away from each other since the bombs dropped? What if…what if Puck doesn't watch out for her? She tries to be so tough but she's so tiny…"

Quinn smirked but couldn't help but feel sorry for the taller woman. "Don't let Santana hear you call her tiny Britt, you know she's sensitive about that. And I'm sure she'll be fine. Puck knows he'll have both of us to deal with if anything happens to her."

"And me too." Rachel said softly from behind them.

Brittany turned and smiled sadly at the usually confident brunette. Seeing Rachel so shaken was unnerving to all of them. "Thanks Rachel."

"Let's get some sticks for the fire. I want us all to stay close together." Quinn said, once again shouldering her rifle but dropping the pack she had been digging through.

The three stepped into the tree line but kept the car within sight lest any straggler come along to try to take their supplies. When they had gathered enough sticks to keep a small fire going until their friends returned, the three moved back to the clearing next to the SUV.

"I'll start clearing a spot for the fire." Rachel said softly while Quinn and Brittany began snapping the twigs and branches, the shorter blonde finally setting her gun off to the side.

They finally got the spot ready and were arranging the sticks in the circle to light. "Where are the matches?" Brittany asked.

Quinn glanced around from the SUV to her bag that she had dropped near the tree line when they went to gather the sticks. "Oh, I have some in my bag over there."

She hopped up and jogged over toward her bag and started digging through it once again. The sound of a growl directly in front of her caused Quinn to glance up with a start. There, about ten feet away from her was a snarling dog. But it looked like a dog from a science fiction movie. The fur was matted in places and there were bald patches in others and soot and dirt covered its body. The animal's ribs stood out prominently and its ears were flattened with the hackles along the dog's back were standing on end. But Quinn couldn't tear her gaze from the yellow teeth bared in the fierce growl.

"Oh shit." She muttered.

As she eased up from her crouched position, the dog leapt forward snapping its jaws. Quinn yelled as she turned on her heel and tried to run.

Brittany and Rachel jumped to their feet at the sound of Quinn's scream.

"Quinn!" Rachel exclaimed as the blonde toppled forward.

The dog had latched onto her calf, refusing to release even as Quinn kicked with her free leg and screamed. From their distance across the small clearing, they could see the blood streaming from between the dogs teeth still embedded in her leg.

Brittany grabbed for the rifle and fired a single shot, aiming far to the left, not wanting to hit Quinn by accident. While she was purposefully aiming no where near the dog, the shot had the desired effect and it released its grip on the blonde's leg. With a furious scream, Quinn kicked the dog in the head one more time and it turned and ran with a yelp.

Rachel and Brittany rushed for the downed woman who was trying to put pressure on her leg to stop the bleeding.

"There's a first aid kit somewhere in the back of the truck Rachel, can you find it?" Brittany said, fighting to remain calm.

Rachel nodded and sprinted back to the SUV to dig through the supplies in the back. Brittany dropped to her knees next to Quinn and quickly ripped her shirt off and started wrapping it tightly around the blonde's leg.

"Easy Quinn, it's ok. This will help stop the bleeding. You're ok. Tina will be right back, you'll see." Brittany tried to soothe.

Quinn hissed in pain as Brittany tied another knot in the shirt. She relaxed slightly when she noticed the blood flow seemed to be slowing. "Shit that hurts."

"I know sweetie, I know." Brittany replied dropping a kiss to Quinn's bent knee. "Rachel, where's that first aid kit?"

"I'm looking!" Rachel called back, completely submerged in gear as she searched.

"Brittany…I don't think I've ever seen anyone so eager to rip their shirt off." Quinn said, trying to lighten the mood. "Is that a new bra?"

The taller blonde glanced up and smiled sheepishly. "It is. I picked it up at that first store we came across. I thought Santana would like it…and she does." She ended with a little shimmy in her Hawaiian print bra.

Quinn chuckled even as she grimaced at the pain. But the sound of the dog growling from the tree line caused her smile to drop. Both blondes froze and stared at each other with wide eyes.

"Do you think we can make it all the way around to the back of the SUV before Fido gets his second course?" Brittany asked, her voice shaking.

"You can." Quinn whispered. "Maybe if you run back to the gun you can kill it before it rips me to shreds."

"I've never shot a gun before today Quinn, I'm afraid I'll hit you instead!" She replied, her eyes still wide with fear.

The flurry of movement out of the corner of Brittany's eye left no more time to discuss their situation. She simply scooped the smaller woman up and sprinted back toward the SUV. She was fairly certain she could feel the dog's breath on the back of her legs as she planted a foot on the front bumper and then leapt onto the hood of the car, Quinn still securely in her arms.

"Rachel, shut the fucking door!" Brittany screamed as she scrambled to settle Quinn up onto the roof, she herself panting as she leaned against the windshield. She finally breathed a sigh of relief when Rachel swung the hatch closed before the dog could circle the vehicle.

"Are you two alright up there?" Rachel yelled from inside the car.

"Great." Quinn replied dryly, the fading adrenaline causing her body to tremble. "How in the hell did you do that Brittany? You're like a superwoman."

Brittany sighed and wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "I know; I can be awesome sometimes. But you're pretty tiny yourself so…piece of pie."

The dog continued to snarl and jump trying to reach the women on top of the car even though they were clearly out of reach. Saliva and blood continued to drip from the dog's snout as it growled and snapped trying in vain to reach them.

"Good to know people aren't the only ones affected by radiation. That sucker is crispy. I don't suppose there's a gun in there with you is there Rach?" Quinn called to the brunette.

Rachel glanced around at the mess she had made of the supplies, not seeing a gun anywhere. "Um, no…I think they took the rest into town with them. Why didn't you just open one of the doors and jump inside the car? Now you're stuck up there."

Brittany frowned slightly. "I didn't think of that…"

"Um, Britt," Quinn replied, "I'm not complaining. Thanks to you I'm not that thing's chew toy."

"Now I know how Lord Tubbington felt when Santana chased him every time he stole her cigars." Brittany said, peering over the side and watching the dog. "So…what now?"

Quinn sighed. "Now…We wait to be rescued."

She scooted back, gritting her teeth against the pain in her leg to allow room for Brittany to sit on the roof of the SUV with her. Brittany tiredly draped an arm around Quinn. The smaller woman dropped her head to Brittany's shoulder with a groan.

xxxx

"How the fuck did this happen?" Santana hissed from her crouched position next to Puck. "Didn't I tell you people, things get fucked when we split up! And now, we have split up not once, but twice!"

The friends had split with Sam and Tina going in search of one car while Santana and Puck went off on their own for another to double their chances of finding gasoline. They were almost finished siphoning gas from a car they spotted on a seemingly quiet street when all hell broke loose. They couldn't even be certain how many people were shooting at them or if they were infected. All she and Puck knew was they were separated from Tina and Sam who were god only knows where with the SUV.

"Can you even see where they're shooting from?" She asked, wincing as a bullet dinged the car they were now crouched behind, much too close for her liking.

"No." Puck muttered, easing his head around the car trying to get a better view. "And I can't tell how many of them there are either. What I do fucking know is that we can't just sit here. All they have to do is cut around from behind us and we are dead."

"So what do you suggest?" Santana snapped. "Because I'm pretty fucking sure that the second we pop up from behind here we're dead anyway."

Puck nodded in agreement, his brow furrowed thoughtfully. "Get in the car." He said finally.

"What?" Santana exclaimed.

"Get in the fucking car Santana! I got sent to juvie for hotwiring one once, I think I can do it again. And then we'll fucking haul ass out of here to Tina and Sam…wherever the hell they are."

Santana cringed as one of the back windows shattered from another bullet. "You _think_ you can? Where is Britt when we need her…no, scratch that. I don't want her anywhere near a fucking shootout."

Santana eased the back door open and crawled into the back seat while Puck pulled open the front door and reached to jerk the wiring down out of the dash. His first attempt had him hissing in pain from the shock as the wrong wires crossed.

"Shit! You're the one dating the master car jacker…didn't she ever show you how?"

"No." Santana cried, scrambling into the front seat. "Come on Puck, you can do this! Start the damn car!"

He glanced up over the dash and saw four men with guns running down the street toward them. "San, can you get a clean shot through the front? We've got four coming straight at us."

She popped her head up and tried to steady her aim as Puck continued to work at the wires. She exhaled slowly and squeezed the trigger of her handgun, feeling a small thrill of satisfaction when one of the approaching men collapsed to the ground and didn't move again. The other three immediately ducked for cover.

"Sweet." Puck muttered, seeing the prone man. A second later, the engine finally turned over and he whooped in excitement.

Still trying to crouch and remain hidden, Puck made sure Santana was fully in the vehicle before shifting into gear and smashing the gas pedal. He glanced up over the dash to make sure he wasn't about to run right into a building and cringed as one of the men went flying over the hood of the car, landing with a sickening thud.

Bullets continued to ding off of the car and Santana's mind flashed back to Kurt involuntarily. Shaking off her nerves, she popped back up to see if she could fire another clean shot at one of their attackers. She felt a twinge of a smile as she took aim and saw another man collapse in the street.

"Keep driving Puck!" she screamed, firing again.

Puck barreled past the remaining men and turned the wheel sharply, veering around a corner quickly. "Fuck!" He screamed, as he came within a few feet of hitting Sam and Tina head on in the SUV. He swerved quickly to the right and felt control of the car slipping as they ran up onto the sidewalk. Puck then jerked the wheel sharply back to the left. He braced himself as he saw the car heading straight toward another disabled vehicle parked on the street in front of them. Puck tried to slam the brakes but there was no stopping them as the car slammed into the other parked car, finally coming to a stop back in the street.

"Shit, shit!" Sam yelled, jumping out of the SUV and running to where the car had come to a stop. Steam and smoke were billowing from the engine of the crumpled car. "Puck, Santana? Are you guys ok? We gotta fucking move!"

Puck groaned and shook his head hoping to clear it. He glanced sideways as Sam ripped open the door. "No, no, _shit_. Santana?"

Puck reached to gently shake her shoulder but she was unmoving, slumped against the passenger window.

"Come on you guys, we gotta go now! They're coming!" Tina screamed from the driver seat of the SUV.

Puck pulled Santana into his arms and out of the car as quickly and gently as possible and they rushed back to the SUV. They piled in and Tina pulled away squealing the tires as the group of men rounded the corner and began shooting once again.

"Puck, is she ok?" Tina yelled, briefly glancing over her shoulder.

"Shit, I don't know. She's out cold and her right shoulder does not look kosher." He replied, cradling her in the backseat.

Tina drove until the town faded from view before finally coming to a stop. Santana was still unconscious in the back with Puck. He eased out of the car and gently placed her on the ground where Tina quickly began checking her injuries.

Her right shoulder was clearly dislocated from the impact of the crash and she had a bruise already forming on the right side of her forehead.

"Ok." Tina said softly. "I've got to pop her shoulder back into place."

"You know how to do that right?" Sam mumbled.

Tina nodded but did not look altogether confident. She lifted Santana's arm and braced it underneath her own. With a cringe and a twist from Tina, the Latina's arm slid back into socket with a pop. Santana quickly regained consciousness with a scream at the pain. She coughed and then folded in on herself on the ground cringing in pain.

"Easy Santana," Tina soothed. "I know it hurts but I had to pop your shoulder back into place. And believe it or not, it's a good thing that you're awake. You've got a nasty bump on your head so you being awake at all is a good thing."

"Doesn't feel like it." Santana whined between her clenched teeth. "Please tell me you have some strong drugs in that little kit of yours."

Tina smiled sympathetically. "Not really. But we do have liquor in the other car."

"That'll do." She muttered.

"Ok guys," Sam interrupted. "I really think it's time we get back on the road. Tina and I were able to get enough gas to get us all pretty far away from here."

Tina nodded but popped the back hatch open and grabbed a spare long sleeved shirt to fashion a sling for Santana's injured arm. "There, that should help a little. The less you move it the better."

Santana nodded and grimaced as Puck helped her to her feet and back into the backseat. "Brittany is going to freaking kill me." He muttered, running a hand over his face.

"Nah." Santana replied groggily. "You're bleeding too…no way can she kick someone when they're already down…she's too good. Besides, you saved our asses back there wiring that car. And you two sure showed up just in time."

Sam looked back at the Latina both confused and worried at her politeness. "Dude, she must have a concussion."

"Fuck you guppy." Santana snapped back.

Puck laughed and gave a fist pump. "Yes! And she lives!"

Tina and Sam chuckled as well while Santana just smirked and let her head drop wearily against the headrest as they continued back toward their friends.

xxxx

Brittany was running out of stories to keep her friends entertained after about two hours up on top of the SUV. They were all beginning to get worried at what was taking the others so long. The dog continuing to snarl and circle the car didn't help ease the tension.

"God I hope that thing doesn't have rabies." Quinn mumbled, once again looking at her leg.

"Nah, probably just cancer." Brittany replied. "You know…from the micro waves."

Quinn shook her head with a chuckle. She winced as she stretched out her injured leg. The bleeding had stopped but she was left with a stinging pain shooting up her leg. Finally, they heard an engine drawing closer.

"I hope they don't get out of the car until someone kills that beast." Rachel exclaimed. "And that is coming from a PETA enthusiast!"

Quinn and Brittany sat upright and began to wave frantically when their friends finally came into view. "Don't get out of the car!" Quinn yelled.

The SUV slowed as they neared the small clearing.

"Um, Santana," Sam asked timidly, "why do you suppose Brittany is sitting on top of the car in her bra?"

"Catfish, I love the girl and would gladly jump in front of a stampeding Sue Sylvester for her, but I don't always understand her." The brunette replied, wincing at the dull thud resonating through her head.

"Wait." Tina said softly. "They're waving, I think they're trying to tell us something…and I think Quinn's hurt!"

"What?" Puck and Santana exclaimed at the same time.

Tina rolled down the window and leaned out. "Are you guys ok?"

A snarling dog suddenly leapt up from under her line of sight and she pulled back into the window with a yelp.

"Don't get out of the car!" Quinn yelled again. "That thing is vicious! It-"

A shot rang out, followed by a brief yelp, before Quinn could finish her sentence. Puck was braced against the open back door and the pistol in his hand was smoking. "It's dead." He said evenly.

Santana eased out of the car, anxious to check on Quinn and Brittany but couldn't manage to move very fast.

Brittany saw her girlfriend moving gingerly, bracing herself on the side of the car. "Santana? Baby, are you ok?"

She leapt from the hood of the car and ran toward the brunette, passing Puck on his way to help Quinn down. With a growl, she swung a fist and punched him in the arm mid stride.

"Ow!" Puck exclaimed, flinching away from the blonde.

"You were supposed to watch her!" Brittany tossed over her shoulder, not bothering to stop until she reached her girlfriend and was able to gently cup Santana's face. "San, baby, what happened? Tina, is she ok? Come on Sanny, come sit down."

Brittany helped Santana back to where they had intended to build the fire while Puck carried Quinn and gently settled her next to them. Tina rushed to check the blonde's bandaged leg.

"I'm going to have to clean this." She said apologetically. "Alcohol would be best."

Santana groaned. "There go my painkillers."

Tina pulled out one of the bottles of whiskey they had stashed and alternated between pouring it over Quinn's leg to clean it and passing it to Santana to chug. By the time the blonde's leg had been treated, she had tears streaming down her face from the pain and a buzzed Santana was leaning heavily against Brittany.

"Give me that bottle." Quinn hissed and snatched the whiskey from Santana. She turned the bottle up and took a long swallow, coughing as the liquid burned her throat.

Brittany dropped her chin to Santana's uninjured shoulder, nuzzling her neck softly. "Are you sure you're ok baby? You scared me."

Santana hiccupped before answering. "Ya know Britty…we are so lucky. So…so lucky. Know why?"

"Why is that?" The blonde replied, smiling tenderly at her inebriated girlfriend.

Santana turned slightly and tried to focus, keeping her face serious as she gazed into Brittany's smiling blue eyes. "'Cause, my lady lovin' fingers are still A-ok." To emphasize her point, the Latina lifted her left hand and wiggled her fingers with a wicked grin.

"Oh my God." Quinn mumbled. She tipped the liquor bottle up once again while Puck and Sam laughed and high-fived each other. Rachel and Tina just exchanged wide eyed stares.

Brittany on the other hand flushed deeply and reached for the still wiggling fingers. She pulled them to her lips and kissed them gently, gazing into deep chocolate eyes lovingly.

"Wanky." Santana said, still smirking. No more than ten seconds later, the brunette's bottom lip began to quiver. "I just love you so much! I'm so sorry I scared you. I'm ne-never leaving your side again. Ever."

"And here comes Santana the sobbing drunk." Puck said with a shake of his head.

"Shut up Puck!" Brittany exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Santana tenderly. "She's had a rough day."

Brittany continued to soothe Santana, trying to be mindful of her injuries. Rachel knelt in front of the two with a bottle of water in her hand. "Here, see if she'll drink some of this or her head will be hurting for an entirely different reason tomorrow. And you too Quinn!"

The blonde turned the bottle up one more time for a last chug before Puck pulled it from her hand. She then took the water bottle from Rachel with a sigh.

"Thanks Rachel." Santana whimpered from Brittany's side as she coaxed the water into the brunette's hand. "You-you're too good for Finny…always have been…I just love you Britt."

Rachel just smiled and Brittany ran a hand through Santana's hair before pressing a kiss to her temple.

"Guys," Tina said timidly. "I know you two probably don't feel like moving but we really should get out of here. Those guys down there could easily make it this far out of town and I don't want to be here if they do."

"Rachel and I can drive while you guys rest." Brittany added. "We did kind of have an easier day…no radioed Snoopy bites or gun toting bad guys…"

"Can…can I sit in front with you?" Santana sniffled, not quite out of her weepy drunk phase yet.

Brittany pressed a kiss to the Latina's temple and rubbed her back soothingly. "Of course baby. But I want you to rest ok?"

Santana nodded and let Brittany and Sam help her to her feet. Puck carried Quinn back to the SUV and the two settled into the back seat where the blonde stretched her injured leg out across the bench seat and rested against Puck who wrapped his arms around her.

The others settled into the other SUV with Rachel taking the driver's seat.

About two hours after taking off, Santana stirred from her nap. "Britt?"

"Yeah baby?" The blonde responded, reaching to squeeze the brunette's thigh.

Santana reached and covered Brittany's hand with her own. "Did I really say 'my lady lovin' fingers' in front of everyone?"

"Yep, you sure did." Quinn responded wryly from her spot in the back seat.

"Fuck me." The Latina muttered with a groan.

"That shouldn't be a problem." Puck said with a smirk. "All of Brittany's lady lovin' fingers are A-ok too."

Santana groaned again. Brittany just laughed and gave the brunette's fingers a loving squeeze.

xxxx

That evening when they finally stopped to make camp, they were all exhausted and hungry. No one said much and they all collapsed into their tents not long after sundown with the healthier of them alternating watch.

When Brittany returned from her shift, she tucked the blankets firmly around Quinn and Santana. But try as she might, she could not fall asleep. Brittany kept glancing to the women sleeping next to her as if to ensure they were both still all in one piece. She finally stretched out next to Santana and lovingly traced her fingers around the bruise on the brunette's forehead.

"She's ok Britt." Quinn whispered.

Brittany glanced over Santana's shoulder where the other blonde was trying to shift to find a comfortable position without aggravating her leg.

"What about you?" Brittany responded softly. "Are you ok? Can I get you anything?"

Quinn smiled tiredly back at the taller woman and shook her head. "I'm ok Britt. Thanks though. You really should get some sleep; you've been up all night taking our turns at keeping watch."

Brittany nodded, still glancing back and forth between her two tent mates. "Quinn…I'm really glad you're ok. You and Santana…you're my people and…I love you. If anything happened to either of you…well the end of the world would just suck…even more than it already does."

"I know Brittany." Quinn replied, still smiling. "I'm pretty crazy about you guys too. We're going to be ok…now please get some rest."

Brittany nodded finally and scooted as close to Santana as she dared, not wanting to disturb her sleep or jostle her injured shoulder. Quinn wanted to remain awake to make sure Brittany actually did sleep but the days events left her drifting off again quickly. Brittany listened as the smaller blonde's breathing evened out once again before she finally closed her own eyes.

xxxx

The next morning, Sam and Puck built the fire while Rachel and Brittany helped situate Quinn and Santana. They all picked through the canned goods for what they wanted to eat.

"Any idea how long it will be before we get to Fort Drum?" Tina asked chewing around her beef stew.

"Um…about two and a half inches." Brittany replied, eyeing the map with a furrowed brow.

Santana tried to subtly flip the map as the blonde happened to be looking at it upside down. Brittany grinned sheepishly and gazed back down again. "Yep, still about two and a half inches."

Rachel smiled and leaned over the blonde's shoulder to get a better look. "May I?" she asked, gesturing to the map.

Brittany shrugged and handed the map over, paying no further attention, instead turning to make sure Santana was relatively comfortable. Rachel nodded thoughtfully and started mapping out their best route using back roads.

"According to this map, we should be at Fort Drum in approximately six more hours. Using back roads of course." Rachel said.

"I vote Rachel to be our tour guide." Brittany said, helping Santana situate the makeshift sling.

"You do read a map like a champ." Santana said smirking. "Must be that nose giving you a keen sense of direction."

Rachel just rolled her eyes and folded up the map. Quinn leaned against Puck as he once again helped her to her feet. She winced in pain and he quickly bent and picked her up, carrying her the rest of the way. Santana and Brittany exchanged a knowing look at the sight.

The friends once again loaded into the SUVs and pulled away after packing up their campsite.

"You must be tired babe." Santana said later in the day when Brittany yawned once again. "Why don't you let me drive? I'm pretty sure you took both Quinn's shift and mine last night. I'm fine, I can drive so you can take a nap."

Brittany smiled and linked her hand with Santana's but shook her head. "I'll sleep when we get to the fort. I don't mind driving San. Besides, you shouldn't move your arm much."

Santana sighed and squeezed the long fingers between her own. "Well if you need to stop or anything just honk the horn."

"I do kind of need to pee." Quinn mumbled from her spot burrowed into Puck's chest.

Brittany chuckled and tapped the horn a few times before coasting off of the road, the car in front following her lead.

"Everything ok?" Rachel called as she stepped out from the first SUV.

"Fine," Quinn replied, grimacing at the pain once again. "Just stopping for a quick break."

Rachel nodded and stepped closer to the blonde where she was struggling to pull herself out of the SUV. "Let me help you Quinn."

"Oh, I got it." Puck said, stepping around from the other side of the car. "Thanks Rach. We'll be right back."

The brunette smiled slightly as she watched them wander off, Quinn once again in Puck's arms. He had a rifle slung over his shoulder which eased Rachel's nerves at them leaving the group.

The others stretched and pulled out snacks to tide them over, hoping to not have to stop again before reaching the fort. Sam and Tina worked on both gas tanks trying to even them out with the gasoline they had picked up.

"Hey B?" Santana asked softly. "Do you think you could help me? I kind of have to pee now that Quinn mentioned it and…" she gestured to her injured shoulder.

Brittany smiled sweetly and helped the smaller woman to her feet. The two walked hand in hand a little ways into the surrounding woods before stopping. The blonde helped Santana slip out of her bottoms with a wink and a wolf whistle. The brunette just giggled and rolled her eyes.

As they were heading back to the SUVs, they heard a breathy moan. They exchanged a glance and quietly moved through the dense trees toward where the sound was coming from. They stepped closer until the sight of Puck leaning into Quinn against a tree came into view. The two were kissing passionately with the blonde balancing on her uninjured leg, the other wrapped around Puck loosely.

Santana gagged slightly while Brittany squealed in delight. The sound from behind them had Quinn and Puck quickly breaking apart. Brittany just waved excitedly.

"Come on Britt." Santana said, throwing a smirk over her shoulder at the pair as she gave Brittany a nudge. "Let's leave them to get back to their baby makin'."

"I really hope it comes out with a Mohawk this time. I swear, Beth didn't even try!" The blonde said as Santana pulled her away.

Quinn dropped her head onto Puck's shoulder with a chuckle.

xxxx

About five miles outside of Fort Drum both SUVs eased to a stop. All of the occupants leaned forward, gazing out the windshields. Once again, the road in front of them had been blown out with trees also downed making it impossible to proceed in the cars.

"Well shit." Quinn muttered from the backseat.

Rachel hopped out of the SUV with the map in hand, Tina and Sam following. "If we can't get through this way, we'll have to backtrack at least an hour or more before we come across another road. And even then, who knows if that road will get us any closer."

"What are you suggesting?" Santana asked with a cocked brow. "That we just ditch the cars and walk? All of our supplies?"

"Of course not." Rachel replied. "We'll take all the supplies we can…and we can try to hide the cars. And we're going to an army base…surely they have more vehicles. But we are so close. I just hate the thought of going backwards when our families could be just a few miles away."

Quinn cleared her throat awkwardly. "I can't walk a few miles Rachel. But I could stay here and you all can someone back for me…I could guard the SUVs."

"No. We'll help you." Brittany replied instantly, Santana and Puck nodding as well. "We all go; we're not leaving you behind."

The friends took a vote with continuing on foot winning out over backtracking. Puck and Sam alternated between piggy backing Quinn. She did hop off and try to walk on her own with Brittany or Tina helping keep her steady but she was not able to make it far.

By the time the Fort came into view, all of them were exhausted from carrying the supplies and trying to help support Quinn. It was almost anticlimactic as the friends trudged closer to the Fort.

The wall surrounding the Fort was about fifteen feet high and appeared impenetrable. In fact, as they walked closer, they could see five soldiers struggling to open the main gate.

"That gate may be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Rachel exclaimed in awe.

The gate was opened just wide enough for the friends to slip in one at a time before the five soldiers strained to close it back.

"Not exactly welcoming." Santana muttered, eyeing the soldiers suspiciously.

Once the door was closed, a huge lock slid into place, effectively sealing them inside the fort.

"Where is everyone?" Brittany whispered.

They glanced around and saw only a handful of soldiers running around the grounds seemingly in a panic. There didn't appear to be any civilians as they had all hoped. They were all hoping to be reunited with their families and what they were met with left them all disappointed and their weariness was much more than just physical.

"Um, excuse me?" Rachel called, taking it upon herself to get some answers. "Would someone please explain to us what is going on? We were told our families had come here."

She marched up to a tall, bulky soldier with his back turned to her and grabbed his arm. He spun on his heel, surprised at being grabbed. Rachel felt the air leave her lungs in a rush when she found herself staring up at Finn Hudson.

xxxx

Finn ushered the friends inside the main building where they quickly dropped into chairs in the mess hall. He rounded them up some cold sodas which they drank excitedly.

"Do you think we could get a doctor or medic to check out Quinn's leg and Santana's shoulder?" Tina asked finally. "I did the best I could but…"

Finn scratched at his head, mussing his short cropped hair. "Well no. I mean if we had a doctor you could but we don't."

"What kind of an army base doesn't have a doctor?" Santana snapped. "Quinn's leg needs to be looked at. And where the fuck are our families? Didn't you send word that this place was safe and they should all come here? Did they? If anything happened to them…"

"They were here." Finn interrupted. "I mean not everyone made it but for the most part they were here. But it wasn't safe so we escorted them into Canada. Well, the rest of our company escorted them. We were left as a skeleton crew basically. And now we're pretty much cut off…"

"Cut off how?" Quinn asked, wincing as she tried to massage her leg.

Santana found herself smirking as Finn's face morphed into the same gassy infant look she remembered so well from high school.

"Well." He started, face scrunched. "We've been having trouble with some looters. So we built that wall all the way around. I mean they are crazy, they attack every night. You have no idea what it's been like out here."

Everyone froze and the tension seemed thicker than ever before. Rachel was the first to speak. "Excuse me?" she hissed. "What do you mean we have no idea? _You_ have no idea what _we've_ been through. You haven't even bothered to ask about Kurt, your own _brother_! And my best friend. He's dead Finn! He was killed by those looters that you seem to think we know nothing about! We have all been through hell Finn. _Hell_! So don't you dare sit there and fucking tell us we don't know what it's like out there."

"Did Rachel just swear?" Brittany mumbled.

"Damn straight she just did." Santana muttered, staring daggers at Finn. "And I couldn't have said it better myself."

Rachel nodded to Santana. The shorter woman was almost shaking with rage. Finn on the other hand just sighed.

"Look, I need to get back to work." He said, standing back to his feet. "We've got two guys out there bringing back a transmitter we need to get in touch with the base in Canada and it's just about time for the looters to start their nightly attacks. But don't worry…you guys are totally safe here. That gate is like impossible to get through. So you all just relax, hang out for a little while and then we'll get you all settled into rooms. Rachel, do you uh, maybe want to swing by my room later? You know to catch up?"

Santana snorted in disbelief. Rachel looked just as surprised. "Thank you Finn for the offer but no thank you. Maybe we can catch up tomorrow…in a properly supervised and public area."

At Rachel's dismissal, Finn's face turned stony. Without another word, he stormed out of the mess hall, leaving the friends slightly dumbfounded.

"What a fucking tool." Santana growled. "It's like he doesn't even care. And he couldn't be bothered to tell us if our families are alright. And then just assumed you were going to fall back into bed with him."

Rachel just sighed tiredly while they continued to sip on their sodas, still taking in their surroundings. A short while later, a young soldier came wandering back into the mess hall. "Captain Hudson asked me to see you all to your quarters."

"Captain?" Quinn muttered in surprise as they all moved to follow the young man out. Puck once again pulled the blonde into his arms.

The young private nodded with a grin. "Yes ma'am. He may have failed out of sniper school but he's a hell of a radio and transmission operator. That's why he's so stressed, he needs that transmitter to make contact with the Canada base…ours was damaged."

"Just think Rachel," Santana said with a smirk, "you used to do the nasty with ol' Capt'n Sweaty. You could still rethink his little invite. Does seeing him in uniform get your lady loins all in a quiver?"

"So gross." Brittany mumbled.

Rachel just shook her head and followed the rest of the group. They were shown to spare rooms in the small barracks. Tina and Rachel split off into one while Quinn and Puck smiled shyly at each other before closing the door to another.

Brittany dropped wearily onto the bed and extended a hand out for Santana to join her. The brunette smiled and took Brittany's hand, pulling her into a seated position. The blonde whined but let Santana pull her up.

"Let me help get you undressed." Santana said softly. "You've been busting ass like crazy…taking like three shifts keeping watch, driving all day…and Quinn told me how you kept that dog from killing her. Totally badass…and hot."

Brittany blushed and lifted her arms as Santana pulled her t-shirt up over her head. "I should be helping you."

Santana leaned down and pressed her lips to Brittany's gently. "That's all you've been doing babe, helping me and everyone else. I want to make sure you actually get some rest tonight. I promise you I'm fine so for tonight, just rest ok?"

Brittany nodded slightly as she gazed up into Santana's deep chocolate eyes. She felt her heart flutter as the brunette continued to help undress her. Santana finally allowed the blonde help her slip out of her clothes as well before they crawled under the covers. Santana settled onto her back allowing Brittany to rest her head on her chest. The blonde sighed contentedly as Santana wrapped her uninjured arm around her securely.

xxxx

The following day the base was bustling with activity even though there were only a handful of soldiers left on the grounds. The friends gathered back in the mess hall for breakfast, all looking much more rested than they had the day before. They ate their fill before deciding to try to make themselves useful. Plus, they were determined to gain some information on their families.

Tina wandered into the medical unit with Sam to see what supplies they had to offer while the others went looking for Finn. They found him in a large room with computer equipment and monitors everywhere.

"Oh, hey, good morning." The tall man said with a grin, seemingly forgetting about the previous nights tension. "Hope you guys slept ok and the looters didn't keep you up. They are really doing a number on our equipment."

The others shared a surprised look. "I didn't even hear anything." Rachel said. "Must have been dead to the world."

"Yeah, we were all pretty tired." Brittany said, helping Santana ease into a seat. The brunette still had a dull ache to her shoulder and had woken with a headache as well. Brittany lightly scratched at Santana's scalp hoping to ease the ache in her head slightly.

Puck placed Quinn into a chair as well, remaining close to her side. "Dude, spill. Did our families make it here or not?"

Finn glanced up from the computer screen he was glaring at. "I told you last night that they did. I just don't know if they made it into Canada or not. And actually Santana, I don't even think your dad went to Canada at all."

"What?" Santana asked, suddenly much more alert. "Where did he go? What about my mom…and my brother? And what about Britt's parents?"

"I don't know where he went." Finn replied, once again turning his attention to the computer. "I think he and your brother split off from the rest of them. But I don't know for sure. Look guys, I'm super busy here doing important army stuff. We were expecting two of our guys to get back here with that transmitter but they got jumped. Only one made it back and he didn't have the transmitter. Said it was still out there, not far from where you said you stashed your cars. The tower with all the circuit breakers? That's where it is…you all had to have passed right by it. And our scouts are saying there are looters all around there so we're working on a game plan for how to get it. We need to get it so we can signal the base in Canada and maybe then I can get some information for you."

"Finn, what about my dads?" Rachel asked softly. "Did you see them?"

Finn sighed. "I'm sorry Rachel but I didn't see them. They could have been here but I don't know."

"This transmitter," Quinn said, "if you get it back you can get in touch with the Canadian base where the civilians were sent? And could even tell them to come back for us?"

He nodded without even sparing a glance at the blonde. "We need that damn transmitter. We need someone to recover it but we can't send out a truck or anything because the roads aren't passable…like you saw yesterday. So someone has to go on foot but we're all swamped and really short handed."

Santana stood from her seat and moved closer to where Finn was staring at the computer screen. "What's that we're looking at?"

"That's a map. We think the transmitter is somewhere around here." Finn replied, pointing to a spot just a few miles from the base. "The problem is that there are enemy rebels all around there too. But we're just going to have to risk it and find someone to go after it."

"I'll go; I remember seeing that tower thing. I can find it, I'll go." Brittany said from the table she was leaning against. Everyone in the room turned to stare at her.

"The fuck you will." Santana replied, shaking her head.

Brittany frowned when Santana turned her back to her, seemingly dismissing her suggestion completely. "Well, who then Santana? Quinn still can barely walk, Sam and Puck are exhausted. You still get dizzy and Finn says all the army guys are busy. We need that thing to get out of here. I can do it."

"Damn it Finn, we're on a fucking army base…there has to be a spare jeep or truck or something." Santana shouted. "Surely you have some military vehicle that can get out there and back."

Finn shook his head. "I told you. The road is impassable. You can't get a truck through there. The only way back to the tower is on foot."

"So send another one of your soldiers to get it so we can get the fuck out of here." Santana snapped.

"This is the army Santana, we're kind of busy." The tall man replied. "This isn't high school anymore. You don't get to push everyone around. And what did you say to Rachel? How is it she is so far up your ass now huh? What did you say to convince her that I'm not good enough?"

"Oh please Frankenfucker," Santana replied with a scowl. "I didn't have to say anything. She's a smart girl…she figured it out on her own."

Finn slammed his fists down on the table and the two stepped closer to each other, almost toe to toe. Santana crossed her arms, willing herself not to flinch at the pain in her shoulder.

"Um guys," a young soldier called from behind them. "A leggy blonde is climbing the wall out front."

"What?" Santana and Quinn exclaimed at the same time. Both rushed to the small monitor displaying the front wall where sure enough, they caught a glimpse of Brittany flipping over the fifteen foot wall and disappearing over the other side. A different camera angle showed her sprinting off in the direction of the transmitter.

"No!" Santana yelled. She turned on her heel and ran out into the courtyard. "Fuck, how did we not notice her sneak out? Open that gate! Open it! Brittany!"

But Santana knew there would be no way to get the gate open in time to catch the blonde. With a frustrated scream, she swung with her good arm and punched the thick metal wall. "Fuck!"

The next few hours were hell for all on the base. Santana was determined to go out and bring Brittany back herself but Puck and Quinn finally convinced her that she would only run the risk of drawing attention to them when Brittany could very likely slip through the woods undetected. The brunette still snapped at everyone who came near her and she sent more than a few soldiers scrambling for cover from her insults.

The others tried to keep busy but they all remained close to either the outer wall or the computer room hoping to catch a glimpse of the blonde returning. Finally, later in the afternoon, Brittany was spotted.

"I see her!" the lookout with binoculars called from the perch at the top of the wall. "She's got rebels right on her heels and looks like she's going to run right into a couple too. They're waiting to cut her off."

"Open the gate!" Santana yelled as they rushed to the door to get a better view. "We have to get out there and help her!"

Puck and Santana began working on the door with another soldier trying to get it open for the blonde to slip back inside. Finn squinted through the small gap in the wall toward where Brittany would be approaching. He raised his rifle looking for the men between her and the door. "There she is!" he called. "Shit, she's going to run right into that guy!"

"Shit, shit." Santana exclaimed, stopping to gaze out another gap in the gate. "Quinn! We need you! Get that fucking gun!"

Quinn was limping toward the group as fast as she could, her rifle over her shoulder.

"I can hit him!" Finn yelled. "I got this!"

"No Finn! You fucking failed out of sniper school, you'll hit Brittany." Santana screamed, turning back and finally seeing the blonde enter her line of vision. She slammed a hand against the door at the sight of the man running toward the blonde, clearly set to intercept her. They were closing in on each other swiftly. "Quinn!"

"I'm coming." The blonde responded, climbing up onto a small platform to get a better view.

"There's no time…" Finn muttered, taking aim.

From there, time seemed to slow for Santana. She registered the 'pop' from the gun as Finn pulled the trigger. She registered the scream that ripped from her own throat and the hiss from Quinn on her other side as she took aim and fired seconds later, the rebel dropping from her bullet. But Santana's attention was squarely on Brittany who was sprinting toward them at full speed. Until the blonde flinched and seemed to lose her footing slightly.

Brittany wrapped one arm around her abdomen, doubling over from the force of the bullet. She was able to reach forward with one hand as she doubled over to steady herself briefly. The blonde managed to take three more steps before toppling forward and skidding to a stop on her side.

"No! _Brittany_!"


	5. Chapter 5

A/N – Well this is like a week later than expected. So sorry, the real world reared its ugly head. Everything from my grandpa having a heart attack to a random job interview but thankfully all turned out ok. On to the story. Ok, I am not a doctor. That's why all the medical treatment is going to be vague, the fewer details, the less I look like an idiot. Oh, warning, character deaths…multiple, it's a blood bath ya'll. Thanks so much for the reviews and for reading in general. This one should wrap it up. Thanks so much for coming along for the ride!

Part 4 – A New World

_But there's hope, for me again._

"Brittany!" Santana screamed, slamming her hand against the outer wall once again.

Quinn continued to pick off the rebels one by one as they closed in on the downed woman. Santana and Puck were straining as they struggled to open the door while Finn seemed frozen in place, realizing what had happened.

Suddenly, Sam came sprinting toward them and leapt up onto the platform where Quinn was still firing. He used his momentum to scale the wall and throw himself over the top. "Get that fucking door open!" he yelled as he dropped to the other side.

The blonde sprinted toward Brittany who was still unmoving on the ground where she had fallen. When he reached her, Sam dropped to his knees behind her and gently rolled her toward him. Blood was pooling around her from the wound to the left side of her abdomen.

"Shit." He hissed. "Ok Brittany, just hang on. I'm gonna get you back inside."

She coughed out a reply, her trembling hands pressed tightly to her stomach. She cringed at the warm, sticky feel of the blood leaking out, covering her hands and the ground around her.

Sam glanced up to where he saw three more men rushing toward him, two of them with knives, the third with a baseball bat. Another shot fired and the closest man crumbled to the ground in a heap. Sam smiled and silently thanked Quinn before pulling Brittany into his arms securely against his chest.

Standing to his feet, he quickly turned and sprinted back toward the gate, praying his friends had managed to open it. Quinn continued to fire at the men still pursuing them.

Santana and Puck somehow managed to get the gate open just enough for Sam to squeeze through. Chaos erupted as soon as they rushed back into the base grounds.

"Finn!" Puck yelled, "Get off your ass and help me shut this! There's more of them coming!"

"Tina!" Santana screamed, swarming to Brittany's side as Sam gently deposited her on the ground. "Tina, help her!"

Santana dropped to her knees and frantically brushed blonde hair from Brittany's sweat and dirt smudged face.

"San…" Brittany whimpered. "Hurts…"

"I know baby." Santana soothed, trying not to completely lose control. "You're ok, you're gonna be fine. Tina's gonna fix you right up."

Tina rushed closer, her eyes widening when she saw the blood. "Oh God…I'm not a doctor! I don't know how to fix this!"

"Tina _please_!" Santana cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Please, you have to try!"

Tina was wide eyed but nodded. Santana reached and pulled the blonde's hands away from her wound while Tina pulled the shirt away from Brittany's stomach. Blood was still streaming steadily from the bullet hole and she quickly pressed her hand to the wound to try to stop the bleeding. Brittany cried out at the pain.

"Should we get her inside?" Sam asked, hovering nearby.

Tina shook her head. "The generator's down so the lights are out. I can't see a thing in there. I do need that tray that's sitting on the counter in there though…and the stuff on it!"

Sam nodded and rushed inside to get the tray. Quinn limped closer using the rifle as a cane of sorts. When she saw Finn approaching as well she growled and shoved him back toward the wall. "You stay the fuck away. If you go anywhere near Brittany, I can't promise Santana won't murder you…or that I won't either. Keep watch."

By the time Quinn got to Brittany, Sam had already returned with the medical tools and Tina was trying to locate the bullet. "All I can do is find the bullet and then close the wound. That's all I know how to do! And I don't even _know_ how to do that! There's too much blood…"

"Tina," Sam said softly, dropping a hand to her shoulder, "just breathe, it's just like when you pulled the glass out of my arm and stitched it, you can do this."

Brittany cried out again as Tina continued to prod at the wound. "San? I'm so sorry. It wasn't there…that robot thing…it wasn't there. I-I'm sorry…so stupid. I shouldn't have…"

Santana shook her head, still cupping the blonde's face after brushing her hair back. "No baby, don't say that. It's ok, everything's gonna be ok." Santana tried to ignore the blood smeared across Brittany's cheeks and soaking into her t-shirt almost to her neck.

"Got it." Tina muttered, pulling a small piece of metal out with tweezers. "But she's still bleeding too much. Um…hand me that clamp…thing. Yeah, that one!"

She took the item Sam handed her and leaned back over the wound, deep in concentration.

Santana felt her heart clenching as Brittany grew impossibly pale from the blood loss. Her eyelids fluttered as she struggled to remain conscious.

"Britt, baby, please stay awake. You have to stay awake." Santana whispered desperately, stroking her cheeks gently.

"I think I did it." Tina said sounding surprised. "I think the bleeding stopped…just have to stitch it. She lost too much blood though. I-I don't know what else to do."

"There's blood in the medical unit." Sam replied. "Maybe we can figure out how to do like a transfusion or something. Santana do you know her blood type?"

"O positive." Quinn interjected, one of Brittany's hands clasped tightly in her own. "Coach made us all donate to her blood bank and as Captain I had to keep track of everyone's type. O positive."

Tina nodded and began closing the wound.

"I think the generator is back up." Rachel said softly from a few feet away where she was nervously observing. "The power is back on so we could move her inside…if you think it's a good idea Tina."

"Ok." Tina replied. "That should do for now. Let's get her inside."

Puck scooted in closer and slipped his arms under Brittany's shoulders and knees and gently lifted her, careful not to split the fresh stitching. Santana kept a hand on the blonde as Puck carried her into the medical unit and gently placed her on the small cot in the corner of the room. He stood awkwardly and watched as Santana remained perched by the blonde's side and brought her limp hand to her lips, ignoring the dried blood.

Rachel helped Quinn limp into the room right behind them and the blonde took a seat on the other side of the bed across from Santana. The brunette didn't acknowledge them as she kept her eyes trained on Brittany's still form.

It wasn't until Finn stepped into the room that Santana tore her gaze away from her girlfriend. With a growl, she stood to her feet. "You…" she hissed at the man. "You fucking, worthless piece of _shit_!"

Finn raised his hands in defense as Santana lunged at him. Puck stepped in between them and wrapped his arms around Santana's waist just in time to keep the Latina from wrapping her hands around Finn's neck. As Puck tried to keep Santana under control, Finn backed out of the room without saying a word.

"That's right, you better run! I will fucking kill you Finn Hudson! You're dead! You're a dead man!"

Tina rushed into the room glancing over her shoulder to where Finn had escaped. In her arms she was carrying a thick medical book. "I'm hoping this thing has instructions for hooking up an IV and well…a bag of blood."

"Get the fuck off me." Santana hissed, shaking Puck's arms away from her.

"You cool?" Puck asked, reluctant to release her.

"No I'm not cool Puckerman!" She yelled. "He shot her! Fucking let me go…she needs me."

Puck finally released her and Santana turned and moved back to Brittany's bedside, once again pressing her lips to the blonde's hand. Quinn waved Rachel closer and whispered to her. Rachel nodded and rushed back out and the blonde then turned back to Brittany as well.

"Help me." Quinn said softly, lifting the remains of her bloody t-shirt. "Santana, help me clean her up, she'll be more comfortable. Rachel's gone to get her clean clothes."

Tina came closer as well, with a bowl of warm water and cloths. Santana finally seemed to rouse slightly and placed Brittany's limp hand back down on the cot. Quinn took the bowl from Tina with a small smile. "Thanks Tina. See what you can figure out with that book, Santana and I will clean her up and then maybe you can put some more of your ointment on the wound."

Tina nodded and turned from the room with a sad smile. She passed Rachel on the way out. Quinn stood to her feet unsteadily and began to cut the shirt away from Brittany's body. She had to swallow down a sob at the sight of the blood stained Hawaiian print bra.

"It's her favorite…" the Latina mumbled.

Quinn swallowed thickly again. "It's her favorite because it's your favorite. Maybe it'll come clean when we wash it."

Santana's hands were trembling as she wiped the blood away. "Quinn…I can't…"

Quinn grasped Santana's shoulder and squeezed. "Stay with me Santana. One thing at a time. We clean her and then we'll figure out what to do. She's still alive, that's-that's huge! It's going to be alright…you'll see."

Rachel reached and took the cloth from Santana's shaking hand. "Just sit with her Santana, Quinn and I will take care of this."

Santana nodded mutely and dropped back to her seat and continued to gently stroke Brittany's brow.

xxxx

The day faded into night and Santana remained by Brittany's unmoving side. Tina had dressed Brittany's wound again that evening but still hadn't found anything in the medical book to help teach her to perform a blood transfusion or hook up an IV.

Brittany was breathing shallowly but Quinn continued to insist that Tina would find an answer soon. The next morning Brittany was still unconscious and Rachel was doing her best to keep Santana company.

Finally, Santana couldn't stand it any longer. She was exhausted from lack of sleep but restless. Anger had been boiling and the need to act, to do _something_, forced her to her feet.

"Stay with her." Santana said to Rachel coldly.

Rachel jumped to her feet. "Santana, where are you going? What are you doing?"

"You stay with her or you and me? We're gonna have a problem. Don't leave her!"

Santana strode out of the room with Rachel yelling for her to come back. The Latina didn't stop until she found herself in the courtyard. She spotted Finn over at the wall in almost the exact same spot as the day before, scuffing his boot on the ground. With an almost animal like snarl, Santana unsheathed her knife and stomped toward him.

"Finn!"

The Captain turned on his feet at hearing his name but the sight of Santana rushing toward him sent a shiver down his spine. "Santana…is Brittany…oh shit…she's dead isn't she? I swear I didn't mean to! It was an accident!"

Santana didn't stop until she shoved Finn back against the wall and had the knife pressed to his throat. "I'm a forgiving person Finn." Santana hissed. "You called Britt stupid in high school, I forgave you. You dumped Quinn after a fucking funeral and I forgave you. You outted me to the whole fucking world, I forgave you. But now…now my girl is hurt…she might _die_ Finn and it is all your fault! _That_, I do not forgive."

"Santana, please!" he begged, the knife digging into his throat. "I swear to God I didn't mean to, I was just trying to help! Someone please, help me! Rachel? Puck? Get her away from me!"

"Santana no!" Quinn screamed, rushing as quickly as she could. "Santana, stop!"

The blonde came to a stop inches from the Latina's side. "Fuck off Quinn." Santana hissed.

"No." Quinn replied, trying to keep her voice steady. "Santana, you're better than this. You're not a murderer-"

"It's his fault she's laying in there Quinn!" Santana yelled. "He fucking shot her! We're in the middle of the damn end of the world with no doctors and he fucking shot her. He should die. Not her."

"What Finn did was an accident. A stupid, fucking accident. But he didn't intentionally hurt Brittany, not like what you're about to do. You're better than that…you're better than him." Quinn said, her voice fading to a whisper.

The knife in Santana's hand was shaking as tears began to leak from the corners of her eyes. "If she dies…"

"She won't." Quinn insisted. She reached and carefully wrapped her hand around Santana's wrist, urging her to lower the knife from Finn's throat. "Come on San, you don't want Britt to wake up and you not be there do you?"

Santana deflated then and finally stepped back from Finn, her arm dropping lifelessly to her side. She let Quinn lead her away without another word to Finn.

"I still want to slit his fucking throat." Santana finally whispered as they stepped back inside.

"And you think I don't?" Quinn replied. "Of course I do. But I don't think Brittany would approve."

Santana stopped abruptly, a look of horror on her face. "I can't live without her Quinn…I won't."

Quinn turned to the shorter woman and wrapped her arms around her. Santana burrowed into the blonde's arms and sobbed. Quinn held her, trying to keep her own tears at bay to remain strong for Santana. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen the Latina cry without it being from the affects of alcohol. The sight frightened her.

"Come on Santana, let's get back in there."

"She needs a doctor Quinn!" Santana insisted. "What the fuck are we gonna do?"

Quinn pulled away from the brunette and thumbed tears away as Santana tried to compose herself. "Tina is pouring over those damn books nonstop just to try to figure out how to help her. Brittany is going to be fine. I refuse to believe anything different. Now come on, let's go."

When they stepped back into the medical unit Rachel was alternating between pacing the room nervously and trying to keep an eye on Brittany. When Quinn ushered Santana back inside, Rachel breathed a sigh of relief. "Is Finn…"

"Still alive and well." Quinn replied, trying to be cheerful.

"Unfortunately." Santana muttered, moving back to her spot by Brittany. She hovered over the blonde eyeing her intently, hoping for any sign of improvement.

Santana and Quinn settled in for another day of simply watching and waiting.

xxxx

Tina came and went throughout the day. She timidly informed Santana she was worried about the blonde getting an infection and that they needed to get as much liquid into her as they could. Brittany was still unconscious so Santana was at a loss. Finally, Tina felt confident enough to attempt to hook up an IV. After a few attempts, the needle was finally inserted correctly and an IV bag was flowing with much needed nutrients.

Santana was finally able to relax knowing they could at least keep the blonde hydrated. She was still weak and frail from the blood loss however. But with the IV in place, Brittany finally roused later that evening.

"San?"

Santana's head popped up from where she had been resting it on the side of Brittany's cot. The blonde's face was scrunched in a painful grimace but her eyes finally fluttered open, glassy blue meeting worried chocolate for the first time in days.

"Hey baby." Santana whispered soothingly, brushing blonde hair away from her sweaty forehead. "Everything's ok, you're ok. Can you drink some water for me?"

Brittany swallowed, wincing at her parched throat but nodded. Santana smiled and lifted a tin cup filled with cool water to the blonde's dry lips. She drank as much as she could before her head dropped back to the pillow with a groan.

"That's good Britt, that's so good." Santana said softly, pressing a kiss to Brittany's forehead. "We just have to get some food and water into you so you can get your strength back up. Tina is taking good care of you, she hooked you up to medicine and everything…you're gonna be fine. God, I love you so much."

The blonde smiled tiredly, her eyes drifting shut again. "Love you too." she mumbled, remaining quiet for another few moments before speaking again. "San, did Finn really shoot me?"

Santana clenched her fists, willing herself to remain calm and not upset the injured woman. "Yeah, Britt." She choked out. "He did."

"I'm sure he didn't mean to…Don't kill him."

With that, Brittany drifted off to sleep once again, leaving Santana to keep her constant vigil.

xxxx

Brittany would wake from time to time and Santana would coax water or broth into her. But with no pain medication, the blonde would pass out again after only a few minutes. Santana was at least regaining some hope. Quinn could in turn relax not having to also keep an eye on the Latina to be certain she hadn't cut Finn or snapped in some other way.

But Santana no longer gave Finn a second thought. She remained with Brittany, tending to her, just waiting for her to wake enough to drink or register the soft kisses Santana would pepper over her cheeks and forehead.

The following night passed relatively quietly. Even the looters seemed quiet. The following morning it became clear why. A scout came rushing back into the camp, barely standing. He was bleeding from a number of wounds.

"They're everywhere." He muttered after collapsing to the ground. "And they have a tank…and grenades."

"They'll get through the wall with a tank." Finn said darkly.

Quinn and Puck exchanged a look from where they were standing nearby. The Lieutenant Colonel, commanding officer of what was left in the Fort, sighed. "We cannot allow civilians to remain here. Captain Hudson, you're to escort them to the command base in Canada."

"I see them! They'll be here in twenty minutes sir! Maybe fifteen." The lookout yelled from the wall.

Once again chaos erupted. Finn and Sam rushed to where one of the only two trucks remained while Quinn and Puck rushed back into the medical unit.

"Let's go, we gotta go!" Puck yelled rushing into the room. Tina and Santana were startled at the abrupt intrusion.

"Puck," Santana exclaimed, "we can't go. Go where? She can't go! Brittany isn't strong enough to travel!"

Puck was already moving to lift her into his arms and Quinn was disentangling the IV to carry with them. "No choice Santana," he replied. "Those rebels are on their way here and they have some serious fire power. They will get in here and we do not want to be here when they do. So we have to go…now."

Puck and Quinn were already rushing out of the room with Santana and Tina scrambling behind them. When they stepped foot out into the courtyard, Finn was pulling the large army truck around.

"Where the fuck are we going?" Santana screamed as Sam basically hefted her into the back of the truck. She scrambled all the way to the back and sat leaning back against the cabin of the truck as Brittany was gently placed into her arms. Quinn quickly settled in next to her with her ever present rifle and helped to hold the blonde steady. Rachel and Tina scrambled in as well.

"Finn said the others were taken to a camp outside of Montreal." Puck finally replied. "He swears it'll be safe there."

Quinn huffed. "That's what we were told about this place! And I thought the roads were impassable."

They didn't have a chance to second guess as the truck rumbled to life, Finn in the driver's seat with Sam beside him in the cabin.

They felt the impact of the truck barreling through the back gates of the fort. Brittany cried out in pain and burrowed into Santana, clutching the Latina's shirt tightly. Tina scooted closer, frantically checking to make sure the blonde's stitches were still in place.

"Looks ok." She said, straining to be heard over the roar of the truck engine. Santana nodded thankfully and pulled Brittany closer, whispering softly to her.

The friends barreled through what was left of the roadway, branches and debris flying in all directions. Approximately twelve minutes after their hasty departure, Fort Drum was flooded with rebels. The remaining soldiers were gunned down and slaughtered mercilessly.

xxxx

On a normal day Montreal was about a three and a half hour drive from Fort Drum. On a day when they were attempting to escape from enemy rebels and navigate through war ravaged terrain, the trip was taking closer to five hours. They had stopped at one point to allow Tina to check Brittany's wound but the stop had been short.

While the ride was bumpy and uncomfortable, the friends had been lulled into a false sense of security. They were still in relative wilderness when the first shots rang out.

The canvas covering the truck bed ripped as bullets ripped through it. Quinn and Santana dove to make sure Brittany was covered while Puck tried to peer out and see if he could get a clean shot off at their attackers. It was only after a brief lull in the shooting that they heard a gasp.

Tina was on her knees with a blank look on her face. As her eyes rolled and she slumped backwards they noticed the hole in her chest.

"Shit, Tina!" Puck yelled, scrambling closer. He tried to stay low as more shouts and gunshot began to sound. He didn't have to reach for her pulse to know Tina was dead.

"Oh God." Quinn whimpered. "Is she dead?"

Puck clenched his jaw and nodded silently. Rachel sat frozen.

"She-she's bleeding. Brittany's bleeding again!" Santana cried.

Quinn tore her gaze from Tina's lifeless body as the truck swerved hard. She grunted in pain as she slammed against the side of the truck before being tossed closer to Santana and Brittany as the vehicle once again veered sharply. Puck and Rachel were similarly struggling to remain upright while Santana was trying to brace herself and hold Brittany still.

Quinn peeked over the side of the truck bed, hoping to get an idea of what exactly was happening. With a gasp, she dropped the canvas flap and scooted closer to the other side at the sight of a sharp ravine just a few feet away from curve they were careening around.

"What the fuck is happening?" Santana yelled, once again pressing a hand to Brittany's abdomen hoping to stop the flow of blood.

"Oh…it's a…a long drop." Quinn stammered. "Oh God."

The truck turned sharply yet again and Quinn was sure her heart stopped as she could feel the wheels drop off the edge of the roadway. Shots rang out followed by the sound of glass shattering. The air seemed to freeze as the truck suddenly tilted. The metal of the truck screamed as it twisted and before they could brace themselves, the truck was thrown onto its side and went sliding down the steep ravine.

When the truck finally came to a stop on its side, Santana pulled herself into a seated position with a groan. Her head was throbbing again but she shook it off and reached for Brittany who was face down a few feet from her. The other three were slowly coming to when shouts were heard from the top of the ravine.

"Fucking shit." Puck hissed. "Everybody out…we gotta go, now!"

In an instant they were all scrambling to crawl from the truck. With a rush of adrenaline, Santana jerked the IV out of the blonde's arm and hauled Brittany up and out of the truck. From there, they had no choice but scatter as people seemed to be rushing down the ravine for them.

Quinn glanced over her shoulder as she ran and caught a glimpse of the front of the vehicle. She fought down a wave of nausea at the sight of Finn. He had been thrown through the windshield and was draped lifelessly over the hood of the truck, blood running over the side down onto the ground. The glass where Sam was sitting was blood splattered as well.

The blonde wasn't sure how far she ran but when she finally collapsed, her leg was screaming in agony and blood was flowing. She raised her rifle when she heard rustling coming closer. With a sigh of relief, she dropped the gun as Puck dropped to the ground next to her panting.

She threw herself into his arms with a cry. He held her tightly and pressed a kiss to her head. "We gotta keep going; they're not that far behind us."

Quinn sat up with a gasp. "Santana and Brittany! Where are they? Oh fuck, we have to find them! We-we have to find them! Santana can't carry Brittany Noah!"

"Quinn-"

"No!" the blonde screamed. "No, we're not going without them! We're going back and we're going to find them and then we'll find Rachel and we'll keep going until we find that base. Please Noah…I can't lose them."

With a grim nod, Puck pulled Quinn to her feet.

xxxx

Brittany tried to support her own weight but with the blood loss she only made it a handful of steps before Santana was basically carrying her. The brunette looked around frantically hoping to spot one of her friends but saw nothing in the dense trees. She could still hear the shouts of the men pursuing them not far behind.

She glanced over her shoulder briefly and just as she turned back to face forward, her foot caught on a root and she and Brittany went toppling down yet another steep incline. The brunette was stunned for a few moments before she realized she was lying still at the bottom of the hill. With her shoulder and head screaming at her, Santana pushed herself up from the ground and once again reached for the blonde.

She spotted a small outcrop of rocks a few feet away and with the last bit of strength that remained, Santana pulled Brittany behind them. She quickly glanced around. On one side was a steep ravine that she hoped would provide some cover for them. On the other, dense trees.

Santana fell to the ground next to Brittany and pulled her into her arms. The blonde had tears streaming from the corners of her eyes and she was choking on cries of pain. Santana ran her eyes over Brittany, seeing the blood still leaking from her already too weak body. Realization settled over her then. This was the end. Brittany could go no further.

"Go." The blonde wheezed, looking up at Santana with pleading eyes. She weakly pushed at the brunette's shoulder, trying to force her to move on.

Santana readjusted herself until she was stretched out half on top of Brittany and half beside her. She kept her arms firmly around the blonde and resolutely shook her head. "No. I'm not leaving you."

"Santana please!" Brittany cried. "I don't-I don't want you to die!"

She smiled sadly and shook her head again. "Don't you know…today or a hundred years from now…if I can die in your arms…I couldn't ask for anything more. I can die happy. I want my last moments on this earth to be with you so please, please don't ask me to go."

Shots continued to ring out all around them, coming closer, but neither noticed. Brittany blinked away her tears and wrapped her arms around Santana, holding on as tightly as she could. The brunette smiled and pressed her lips to the blonde's forehead.

"I'm so sorry baby. So sorry…this isn't what I wanted for you." Santana whispered brokenly.

She felt the blonde nod against her. "Love you…"

"God, I love you too! Don't be scared Britt…I'm right here baby…I'm right here with you." The brunette replied, tightening her hold, determined Brittany would feel safe and loved in her last moments.

"Well, look what I found."

Santana startled slightly at the voice and glanced over her shoulder and saw a middle aged man standing a few feet away from them. He was clearly suffering from the affects of radiation poisoning. His head was shaved but patches of baldness could still be seen and his skin had the familiar deathly gray pallor to it, eyes sickeningly bloodshot. With a grin, he spat in their direction, his saliva mixed with blood. In one hand he held a pistol loosely but with his free hand he was already unbuttoning his pants.

"I haven't seen clean pussy in months…"

The brunette sighed, realizing she didn't have the will to fight the man off. She was simply too tired. Santana tightened her grip on Brittany with one arm, the other subtly reaching to unsheathe her knife. "He won't touch you." She whispered in Brittany's ear as she eased the knife up to the blonde's side.

Brittany's eyes widened when she saw the fading sunlight glint off of the blade as Santana imperceptibly brought the knife closer. She realized then what Santana meant…what lengths she was willing to go to in order to spare her from what the man intended to do. Fresh tears began to spill.

"Don't let him…touch you either."

Santana smiled and nodded, sensing the man moving closer. She leaned down and pressed her lips to Brittany's in a last, searing kiss. "I love you…Always."

Just as Santana turned her wrist to thrust the knife between the blonde's ribs and into her chest, a familiar scream and a single gunshot rang out. She glanced over her shoulder quickly and gasped at the sight of the man slumping to the ground, a bullet hole squarely in the middle of his forehead.

"Santana!" Quinn screamed, limping closer, rifle in hand. Puck was close behind, still firing off into the trees with his handgun. The Latina felt her heart both sore and clench painfully at the sight of her friends returning.

"Oh God, Quinn." Santana cried as Quinn squatted next to them, once again taking aim at their attackers. "He was going to…_I_ was about to-"

"I know what you were about to do." The blonde replied lowly. "Drop the fucking knife Santana; you two are not dying alone out here in the wilderness…I won't have it! I won't! Now put that thing away."

"But what are you doing here?" Santana cried. "You could get away. You shouldn't have come back, you could have lived…"

Quinn turned an almost cold glare on the smaller woman and shook her head. "You idiot. I wouldn't leave you two. We all go or…well we all go."

Santana sighed. She reached for Quinn's hand, hoping to convey all she was feeling at her best friend's words. The blonde returned the squeeze with a sad smile and Santana blinked a new wave of tears away. "Rachel?"

The blonde clenched her jaw and shook her head. "I don't know…"

"There's too many of them!" Puck yelled, interrupting the moment. "I'm almost out of bullets. Fuck!"

Quinn snapped back to attention and grunted in reply as she quickly reloaded the last of her bullets into the rifle and took aim once again, her conversation with Santana dropped. A group of rebels started running toward them and she and Puck tried to pick off as many as they could, knowing they couldn't possibly protect them for much longer.

Rebels continued to close in on them and soon, Quinn and Puck found themselves down to just a handful of bullets between the two of them. Santana had returned to her position stretched out half on top of Brittany and was holding the now unconscious woman tightly.

Just when they were about to give up, shots rang out from across the ravine they were settled in. The rebel closest to them fell to the ground with two more quickly following. Not being able to see who was firing, the friends pressed back against the small covering of rocks and simply waited. When the shots finally ended, the silence was almost deafening. Quinn chanced a glance over the rocks and saw bodies littering the ground.

"Don't shoot!" A voice rang from the hill where the unexpected rescuers had been perched. "We want to help! We're not going to hurt you."

Santana tensed, Brittany limp in her arms. "Tomas?"

She looked into the distance and was certain she was hallucinating at the sight of her older brother rushing down the hill toward them. Santana choked out a sob at the sight of her father rushing forward as well.

"_Papí_!"

Santana tore herself away from Brittany and sprinted toward her father. When she reached him, she jumped and threw herself into his arms.

"_Santanita_." He cried, holding her tightly. "My baby girl. I thought I'd never see you again!"

Santana was sobbing into her father's chest as he finally pulled away slightly to get a better look at her. "You're covered in blood! Dios mío! Santana, are you hurt? Santana, answer me!"

"Brittany!" the Latina choked out, still fisting her father's shirt in her hands. "She's hurt…she's dying Papí, _please_!"

Dr. Lopez allowed her to pull him back to where Brittany was still laying, Quinn now trying to rouse her. Puck was slumped against a rock watching worriedly.

Dr. Lopez dropped to his knees next to Brittany and pulled the blood soaked shirt away to get a better look at the wound. His brows furrowed in a frown. It only deepened when he felt for the blonde's pulse. "Very weak…we must hurry. Let's get her up into the truck; we'll get her to the hospital, only a few more miles to go! Hurry, we must go before someone finds where we stashed the truck."

"Hospital?" Quinn muttered in awe. She finally allowed herself to smile and dropped her head wearily onto Puck's shoulder.

Tomas scooped the limp woman up into his arms and Puck quickly did the same with Quinn. Santana squeezed her brother's arm and smiled gratefully before they rushed back through the trees.

"How did you find us?" Santana asked, her gaze flitting between Brittany and the rough terrain in front of them.

Her father chuckled slightly and glanced back over his shoulder. "Your brother and I were just driving down what's left of the highway and out runs a screaming Rachel Berry. Even screaming she has a beautiful voice."

"Damn near ran her over." Tomas added.

"Rachel?" Quinn asked. "She's ok? We got separated…we just thought…"

"She's fine." Dr. Lopez replied. "She's guarding the truck."

Sure enough, as they finally stepped onto a small, two lane road, they spotted a truck somewhat hidden under some overhanging branches. Rachel was squatting beside the vehicle with a gun in her hands.

When they reached the truck, Santana pulled the shorter woman into her arms. "Thank God you're ok…and thank you…you found them!"

Rachel smiled, tears streaming and hugged the Latina tightly. They then quickly jumped into the bed of the truck and once again helped settle Brittany. When everyone was securely in the truck, Dr. Lopez stomped on the gas pedal.

xxxx

A short while later the truck approached yet another massive wall. Dr. Lopez honked the horn and the gates opened allowing them to pull through without slowing. The truck finally slammed to a stop with dust swirling.

Tomas once again pulled Brittany into his arms and then jumped from the back of the truck and ran, Santana close behind. As soon as they entered the cold gray building, Dr. Lopez began barking instructions at the surprisingly well staffed makeshift hospital. They rushed through double doors. When Santana tried to follow, her father stepped in front of her with his hands on her shoulders.

"Not you Santana. You stay out here."

"But Papí, its Brittany. I need to be in there with her…she needs me!"

Dr. Lopez shook his head sternly. "No. You will only distract me and Brittany needs my full attention. You will wait out here. Besides, your mother wants to hold you."

Santana turned to where her father was gazing over her shoulder. Mrs. Lopez was standing with her hands clasped in front of her mouth and tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Mama." The brunette whispered.

For the second time that day Santana fell into the arms of her parent when the day before she doubted she would ever see either of them again. Mrs. Lopez pulled Santana down onto a couch in the waiting room. She held the brunette tightly as Santana cried out all of her fatigue and worry, not able to care than just a few short months ago, the Latina would have hated the thought of anyone seeing her break down.

Quinn, Puck, and Rachel slipped quietly into the room as well. When Mrs. Lopez spotted Quinn she felt her heart clench, remembering what she had heard had happened to Judy Fabray. She held her free arm out in an invitation.

"Quinn…Come here sweetheart. My girls…" The blonde didn't waste a second before settling in against the woman who had been like a second mother to her all through grade school and middle school until high school got in the way.

"Santana, Quinn…where's Brittany?"

The soft voice from the door startled the two girls and they glanced up quickly seeing Mrs. Pierce and her youngest daughter Ally standing there. Santana sat up, reluctant to leave her mother's embrace.

Mrs. Pierce was tall and slim with light blonde hair. In fact there was no doubt what Brittany would look like in twenty years the similarities were so striking. Santana stood to her feet and timidly approached the taller woman.

"She's hurt." The brunette whispered. "I'm so sorry…I tried…I tried to keep her safe but she's hurt. But my Papí is in there with her and he'll take care of her I know it! She's going to be fine…she has to."

Susan Pierce glanced to the double doors blocking Brittany from their view. She then turned and dropped her gaze to her younger daughter and tried to smile. "You stay here with 'Tana and Britt's friends ok Ally? I'm just going to go check on Brittany."

The ten year old girl nodded solemnly as her mother rushed forward and disappeared behind the double doors.

"Come sit with me Ally." Rachel said softly. "I'm Rachel…you're big sis is going to be just fine, you'll see."

Ally nodded and silently took a seat beside the brunette, swinging her feet. Santana settled back in beside her mother who continued to run her fingers through her dark hair soothingly. Quinn eventually moved back to Puck's side, wincing at the pain in her leg.

A short time later Tomas stepped out with a small medical kit in his hands and Santana jumped to her feet. "Is she ok? Tell me how Brittany is."

Her brother smiled slightly. "Papí is still working on her…patience Satan. I came to take a look at Quinn's leg, looks pretty painful."

"Dude, you know what you're doing?" Puck asked, narrowing his eyes at the older man.

Tomas smirked. "Graduated from Duke University Medical School last year man, I got this."

Puck relaxed slightly but still kept a wary eye on the man as he tended to Quinn's leg. Tomas finally pulled out a syringe.

"What's that?" Quinn asked quietly.

"A little pain killer." Tomas replied. "No reason for you to be in pain now that you're here safe and sound. It might make you a little drowsy but it'll take the sting out. Your leg is infected so I need to clean it and I don't want to hurt you."

The blonde nodded and settled back into Puck's chest. Puck wrapped his arms around her tightly and pressed a kiss to her temple.

The little painkiller did more than make Quinn a little drowsy. In fact thirty minutes later she was sound asleep in Puck's arms. Santana had to smile at the way he tenderly held her best friend.

Rachel was entertaining Ally in the corner of the room when Mrs. Pierce stepped through the doors. Santana shot to her feet again, her mother right behind her. Without saying a word, Susan strode directly to Santana and threw her arms around her.

"You brought her back to me. I lost my husband. I thought I had lost my child and you brought my Brittany back to me."

Santana returned the embrace. "I'd die for her…please…tell me she's ok."

"She's resting." Dr. Lopez replied from behind them. "She is still in danger but…it's a miracle she survived at all so I feel confident she can make a full recovery in time. Whoever stitched her up originally did a magnificent job."

"Tina." Rachel said softly. "Tina saved her…but she was killed…Sam too…"

Mrs. Pierce smiled sadly as she pulled Ally into her arms. "I'm grateful…to all of you for keeping Brittany safe."

"Are you kidding?" Puck said, still holding a sleeping Quinn. "Brittany is a total badass; she saved all our asses at some point. You should be real proud of her Mrs. P."

"Can I see her now?" Santana interrupted.

Dr. Lopez chuckled. "We're just going to get her settled into one of the back rooms and then you can sit with her. Patience Santanita."

Santana scowled but didn't argue further. Finally, about a half an hour later, she was allowed back to see Brittany. The blonde was unconscious still but was hooked up to working monitors with both an IV bag and blood bag hanging on the wall behind her. Santana settled into a chair next to the bed with Mrs. Pierce also watching nearby.

xxxx

Quinn woke slowly, easing into consciousness. The softness surrounding her was unfamiliar but extremely comfortable. When her eyes opened she smiled at the sight of Puck sitting next to her.

"Noah."

Puck returned the smile and softly brushed his fingers over Quinn's cheek. "Good morning. You've been out cold for a while now."

Realization washed over her and she sat up with a start. "Where are we? Are we safe? Is Brittany ok?"

Puck soothed her back down onto the bed, gently pushing on her shoulders. "Everything is fine Quinn…like for real this time. I mean, not totally, it's still the end of the world and all but…we're safe. This place is a total fortress so we're safe. You can rest."

"And Brittany?"

"She's still sleeping." Puck replied. "Doc Lopez says it's still too soon to tell. But she's going to be just fine. You'll see."

Quinn sighed as her panic seemed to fade. She gazed up into Puck's dark eyes that were surprisingly soft and tender. "I love you."

The words were out before she had time to think. But she didn't regret uttering them when the man beside her grinned almost shyly at her declaration. "Well that's good to know…saves me from the embarrassment of saying it first and getting shot down."

Quinn laughed and swatted his shoulder. When her laughter died down, the both smiled as Puck leaned down and pressed their lips together.

"I love you too by the way."

xxxx

Santana remained with Brittany while she slept. Mrs. Pierce split her time between her duties in the new community and both of her daughters. The new community was in fact what remained of Montreal and blocked off by a large wall with an actual army for protection. All civilians were given tasks to keep the community operating.

They all breathed a sigh of relief when Dr. Lopez said Brittany was recovering quite well. It was normal that she would still be unconscious days later given the toll on her body. Even with the encouraging diagnosis, Santana couldn't bring herself to relax until her blonde was awake and smiling.

She worried how she would tell Brittany that her father was killed on the way to Montreal, along with Burt and Carol Hudson. And the Schuesters. They had all been through so much already, so much loss. She hoped more wouldn't be too much for the blonde to handle.

Santana herself couldn't understand how she had gotten so lucky. Both of her parents and her brother had survived. And Brittany and Quinn. All of her people were safe and while she didn't know why or think she deserved it, she was not about to complain or question.

So she sat, constantly holding Brittany's hand and talking to her while she slept. Mrs. Lopez would sit with her from time to time as well as Quinn and Rachel. But they all knew better than to expect her to leave the blonde's side.

Finally, on the fifth day after arriving in the new town, Brittany began to stir. The blonde whimpered slightly and Santana jumped to attention, moving closer to hover over her, waiting for her eyes to open.

"'M floatin'." Brittany muttered, her eyes still closed. She wiggled her fingers and toes as if to emphasize her weightless feeling.

Santana held her breath as she hovered and brushed her fingers gently over the blonde's cheeks. Brittany's nose scrunched and she sighed. "Feathers. That you Sanny? Are we flying?"

"Yeah, it's me Britt, I'm right here." Santana replied with a tender smile, still gently caressing her cheek. "And that's just the morphine babe."

"Morphine…am I a power ranger?" Brittany mumbled, eyes still closed. "Wanna be the pink one."

Santana lifted one of the blonde's hands to her lips and smiled into the kiss. "You can be whichever one you want."

"Quinn's green…makes her eyes pop. You're yellow…my sunshine. Or red 'cause you're spicy."

"I can work with spicy." Santana replied, moving to press a kiss to the blonde's forehead. "But you're the sunshine Brittany, always have been. Come on baby, wake up."

The blonde turned toward Santana's voice and sighed again. "Maybe black because you're sexy…or white 'cause you're so good…so good…"

Santana choked back a combination of tears and a laugh at the blonde's mumbling. "Baby, can you please open your eyes for me now?"

Brittany's nose scrunched again as her eyes fluttered open. She blinked sleepily until her gaze finally focused on Santana hovering above her. "Hi!"

Santana smiled widely at Brittany's tone of almost awe at seeing the brunette. "Hi Britt."

The brunette couldn't have stopped the tears then if she had wanted to. She cupped both of the blonde's cheeks and smiled through her tears. Brittany's sleep filled eyes narrowed with worry.

"You ok San?" She lifted a shaking hand and tenderly brushed Santana's tears away, letting her fingers trail down her cheeks. Santana turned slightly and pressed a kiss to the blonde's palm.

"Yeah baby, I'm ok…as long as you're ok, I'm ok."

Brittany finally smiled then and brushed her thumb over Santana's lips. "Love you."

"Oh Britt." Santana cried through her tears. "I love you too, so much. God…I thought I lost you…"

Brittany tugged lightly on Santana's arm and the brunette slid into the bed next to her, careful not to jostle her too much. "Just rest San…you can rest now."

Santana was sound asleep next to Brittany within moments. Their mothers smiled at each other a short time later when they stopped in and found the two women curled together on the small bed.

xxxx

Brittany was thrilled to see her mother and little sister, as was expected. However, she cried so hard at learning her father was dead that Tomas had given her a sedative, afraid she would tear the still fragile stitching to her abdomen.

When she woke again, Susan was holding her and humming softly. Brittany smiled sadly. She cheered however, whenever Ally or Santana were nearby. Quinn, Rachel, and Puck also helped keep her spirits up.

The next day, Santana strode into Brittany's room, already grinning from ear to ear. The blonde smiled tiredly at seeing her but quirked a brow when she noticed Santana seemed to be hiding something behind her back.

"Did you bring me a present San?"

Santana blushed and nodded, still smiling widely. "Ally helped me pick it."

She handed a medium sized box to the blonde who was taking her time pushing herself up into a seated position. Her eyes snapped to the brunette's as the box began to wiggle in her hands. Santana just nodded to the box and sat on the edge of the bed.

Brittany lifted the lid and gasped in delight at the sight of a tiny orange kitten gazing back up at her. "Oh San, its perfect! Oh my God! You got me a Lord or Lady Tubbington the third! Thank you so much, I love him…and you, I love you. Like I really love you!"

Santana giggled and nodded before leaning in and pressing their lips together. "I'm glad baby. I thought maybe…she could be ours…like our first family pet. And like I said, Ally picked her so I can't take all the credit."

"No, she's perfect Santana, perfect! Thank you." She reached and pulled Santana closer to her until the brunette was settled next to her, head on her shoulder. They played with the small kitten and Brittany sighed in contentment.

"Look at us," she whispered after a while. "A happy little family."

Santana nodded and smiled into Brittany's shoulder. "Very happy."

"I'll have to thank Ally…where is she by the way?"

Santana smirked. "With Rachel. The hobbit heard her singing to herself and said that she 'demonstrated amazing vocal range and pitch for one so young.' So she's taken it upon herself to be Ally's own personal coach. They've been practicing runs and scales non stop. Quinn and I would have killed Berry days ago if Ally wasn't so damn cute in her misplaced idol worship."

Brittany laughed at Santana's perfect interpretation of Rachel Berry. "No you wouldn't…admit it; you love the little lawn gnome."

"Good one B!" Santana replied with a chuckle. "And yeah, I guess you're right…but don't tell anyone."

"Your secret is safe with me." Brittany gazed into Santana's dark eyes and smiled. She tilted her head and hummed in contentment as their lips met once again.

xxxx

Finally, a few days after waking up, Brittany was strong enough to be taken out into the sunlight. Puck carried her outside and gently deposited her into a chair where she could get a look at her new home.

She smiled at the sight of chickens and other farm animals roaming freely. A number of gardens were fenced off as well. People were healthy and happy as they tended to both the animals and the crops. Families had their own living spaces. It seemed what was left of the world was starting over.

She sat and watched for nearly an hour until Santana was worried she would tire herself out. "You ready to go back in babe?"

Brittany shook her head, still watching everything going on around her. "No…I wanna watch. It's beautiful."

Quinn and Santana smiled from their spots on either side of the blonde. With a nod, the friends pulled their chairs closer. Brittany smiled and reached for each of their hands. Puck and Rachel pulled up chairs as well and the friends gazed out over their new home.

"Oh guess what babe," Santana said, turning toward Brittany. "That hot little Hawaiian print bra is cleaned up and good as new."

Brittany blushed and gave a fist pump before reaching back for Santana's hand. "Score!" She traced her thumb over the back of the Latina's hand, smiling sweetly.

"Not a bad place to settle down." Puck said turning toward Quinn.

She smiled and nodded in agreement. "We've lived in worse places."

"You are not fucking kidding." Santana replied with a smirk.

"Language Santana Lopez!" Mrs. Lopez scolded from a few feet away. "I did not raise my daughter to use that kind of language. You are to have class young lady…even in an apocalypse!"

Santana cringed and sank lower in her chair, still holding tightly to Brittany's hand. "Yes mama." She muttered in reply.

Brittany chuckled and squeezed the tan hand firmly clasped in her own. "So…remember that time we walked through poo up to our chins?"

Puck looked disgusted but the four women simply shared a knowing smile before errupting in laughter. The friends remained sitting, hands clasped and happy, watching the sun set over their new home.

The End.

A/N - Thanks again for sticking with it! Hope the ending wasn't too cheesy...I'm always a sucker for a happy Brittana ending. Thanks again!


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